


Feeling of Glory

by ZeltheWeavile



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: CountryPunk, DressedinPinkShipping, F/M, FirstSnowShipping, Leonia, Lionheartshipping, Marhop, Pokemon, Pokemon Fanfiction, Raihan x Klara might happen.. I’m not completely sure yet, Swsh, Violla, WaterlilyShipping, bederia, this will end up getting pretty dark and violent But that’s only after Raihan’s Gym, wyndonshipping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-13 00:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 79,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21485176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZeltheWeavile/pseuds/ZeltheWeavile
Summary: “When the time of the Darkest Day has come,Two Trainers will take the throne.One of great strength will stand and rise,Wielding a sword as his special prize.And the other, of protection and care,Will hold a shield as the next heir.The Darkest Day will return.Mark these words, or of the wrath you shall learn.”
Relationships: Beet | Bede/Yuuri | Gloria, Hop/Mary | Marnie, Masaru | victor/Oc
Comments: 76
Kudos: 268





	1. New Beginnings

It was quiet in Postwick. Perhaps that's why Gloria loved living there so much. Nothing ever happened there, and the days were easily predictable.

Well, most of the time.

"Gloria! Hey, Gloria, hurry up!" Hop shouted at his friend from her kitchen. He dared not peek inside to see if she was getting ready.

"I'm almost ready, Hop. Calm down." A quiet laugh followed her words.

"But we need to hurry! Lee's going to be here soon!" Hop paced restlessly outside her room. He was getting more and more impatient with each second.

"Leon can wait," Gloria told him softly, smiling to herself as she heard his gasp of shock. "Anyway, I'm done." She stepped out of her room, adjusting her pine-green hat on her head. Her skin was a pale color, and she had cropped brown hair, with the same color eyes. She was wearing a short pink dress, and a light gray coat over it. Around her shoulders was a brown leathered backpack. At her feet were green checkered socks and brown boots.

Hop frowned, looking over her outfit. "Isn't your dress too short?" It only went halfway down her thighs.

Gloria groaned. "It was the first thing I could see. Now do you want me to waste more time looking for something else to wear, or do you want to go see Leon?"

"Go see Lee," he answered immediately. 

"Okay, then. Let's go!" The brunette broke off into a run without any hesitation. She rushed past him to beat her friend outside.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Hop chased after her, listening to her laugh the whole way out the door. He eventually did manage to catch up to her, but she was outside already. His Wooloo ran to greet him from his spot outdoors. Hop ran a hand through his Wooloo's wool.

"You're so slow," Gloria teased, moving her hands behind her head.

"That's because you always cheat!" Hop stomped towards Gloria.

"Aw, cheer up." She poked his head. "Someday, you'll manage to beat me. So until then, just keep doing your best, alright?"

"Fine." Hop sighed. He jogged to the edge of the lawn and stepped down the steps before turning back to Gloria. "You coming?"

"Yeah," Gloria followed him more slowly, walking past her mom's garden and the Budew that thrived near it.

"Seeing you with that bag, Gloria, and it looks like it could just pull over!" Hop joked as he waited for her to join him. "At least it's so big that we know it can hold a Snorlax if you so chose." Gloria reached him finally and punched his arm lightly. Hop laughed. "Okay, I'll stop."

_Thump_.

"What was—" Gloria looked past Hop, seeing a different Wooloo curl up into a ball before rolling down a slight decline and into a gate door. The door shook each time the Wooloo hit it.

"What's Wooloo doing all the way over here?" Hop watched it roll into the gate several more times. "Crazy Wooloo, you can't go through that gate."

The Wooloo glanced at him. "Loo-oo-oo?" Then it continued its job as if Hop hadn't said a single word to it.

"Uh, Hop? Aren't you forgetting something?" Gloria whispered in his ear, causing the purple-haired boy to start. 

"What?" He looked at Gloria. Then his eyes widened. "Oh, yeah! Lee's probably already at my house, so I'll race you there!" He ran down the path in the direction of his home. His Wooloo curled up and rolled after him.

Gloria rolled her eyes, watching him run. If she truly felt like it, she could easily catch up to him and even beat him to his destination. As it was though, she wasn't really in the mood to run a whole lot. It was early evening, and she just didn't feel like running a bunch. She had spent a majority of the previous night and this day chatting with her other friend. She was currently living in Kanto, but they still kept in touch quite often. 

Gloria hummed a soft tune as she followed Hop. _I wonder what Leon's going to bring to us. Hop said something about him having gifts for us. . ? _She shook her head._ I'm probably mistaken. He probably just has something for Hop, as he's his brother and all. I doubt he even remembers me; it's been five years since I saw him last._ She smiled quietly, imagining Leon's face as he gazed at her, knowing enough that she was Hop's friend, but not enough to actually remember her name.

Gloria crosses a tiny bridge and passed several more Wooloo as she made her way to Hop's home. 

His house was huge. Every time Gloria looked at it, she felt a pang of jealousy ignite in her. His home was two stories tall, made of gray brick. His yard was quite big as well, and he even had his own battling field. Gloria went to the front door and opened it without even knocking.

"Oh, hello, Gloria!" Hop's mum greeted her from the kitchen. "Hop's upstairs right now, looking for his brother. He didn't listen when I told him that Leon isn't here yet." She sighed to herself.

"Oh." Gloria blinked. "Do you know where Leon is then?"

The woman thought for a moment. "If I were to guess, I'd say he's probably in Wedgehurst at the station."

Gloria nodded. "Alright, thanks!" She walked towards the door to leave. "I'll go down there to bring him here and surprise Hop." She smiled. "Besides, I've heard he's helpless with directions."

Hop's mum laughed quietly. "That's true." She glanced at the stairs. "I'd suggest you go ahead and greet him now, before Hop finds out that he isn't here yet."

Gloria nodded. "Cool, thanks!" She opened the door and went outside.

She walked to the main road beside Hop's home and looked ahead. Straight in front of her was Wedgehurst, about a five minute walk away. She started jogging over there. 

She was halfway to the small town when she felt something hit her head. She paused and noticed a tiny Berry seed at her feet. "Who threw—" Another one hit her cheek.

"Skwo-o-o!" A creature laughed at her in a very high-pitched voice. Gloria whirled around, anger lighting up her face.

"Oi, who did that?" She scanned the area around herself. A patch of grass started shaking nearby and Gloria caught sight of a furry gray tail. She growled and took a step towards it. A different creature leapt out of the grass nearby and threw another Berry seed at her face. They both laughed as Gloria yelled in anger.

The two Pokémon ran out of the grass. They were light gray, with big soft cheeks. They had a long tail coming from behind them.

Skwovet Gloria thought, narrowing her eyes at them. They stopped right in front of her, eyeing her every move.

"Leave me—"

"Vet!" One of them screamed, a battle cry. Instantly the two squirrels were upon the girl, chirping and squeaking to each other.

"Ah! Stop!" She tried over and over to grab the tiny Pokémon, but they kept evading her hands.

"Skwo!" One called out, and another Skwovet ran from the grass to join.

"Help!" Gloria yelled out to no one in particular. What a pathetic way to die, she thought. Now she understood why she was told to stay away from the grass.

She fell to the ground, the Pokémon chatting on top of her. There was nothing she could do to stop them. . .

"Wooloo, Tackle!"

Gloria felt the weight leave her back and a small breeze the Wooloo made as it jumped over her. She cautiously lifted her head to see her savior, only to be met with Hop holding his hand down to her.

"We have to leave here fast; I don't know when they'll be back."

Gloria slowly lifted her arm towards him, but apparently she wasn't quick enough for him, as he pulled her up to her feet himself.

"Th-thanks, Hop," Gloria muttered. She glanced behind her, where his Wooloo was chasing the three Skwovets.

Hop said nothing and guided her away from the grass. When they were finally back on the main path, he began to speak up.

"What were you doing?" He scolded. "You could've gotten really hurt back there!" He stopped and looked over her quickly. "You didn't get injured, did you?"

"Uh, no." Gloria laughed nervously. "Thank goodness you were there to save me. Haha. . ."

Her friend's eyes thinned slightly. "That's not the point. What if I hadn't been here when I was? What if I was still at home?" Gloria lowered her head, guilt crawling inside her. "If something ever happened to you, I don't know what I would do. You're my best friend, and I would feel so bad if anything ever happened to you."

Gloria bit her lip. "I'm sorry." If only she had a Pokémon, and then none of this would have happened. She felt a small ping of envy as Wooloo rolled towards them and stopped beside her.

"It's okay." Hop gave her a small hug. "At least you're safe."

Gloria nodded slowly. "Looks like you beat me," she said quietly, hoping to lighten the mood.

Hop laughed. "I guess so. Now come on, I think I can see Lee from up here."

The two ran down the path, side by side, nearing Wedgehurst.

⚔️ 🛡

Champion Leon stepped out of the train station, his Charizard right beside him. Already there was a small crowd of people there, waiting for him. Pride filled him from head to toe and he stopped, grinning at everyone. They all seemed to be anticipating something, he realized.

He swung his cape back with his right arm, and then shot his left arm up. His head was turned to his right arm, which was at his side. This was his signature pose in the Galar region, known as the "Charizard pose."

The small group cheered, and Leon smiled to himself. A few moments later he stood upright, swishing his cape as he did so.

"Hello, hello, Wedgehurst!" His voice was warm and friendly. "Your Champion, Leon, is back!" He gave a small nod, beaming. "I promise to keep doing my best to deliver only the greatest battles for you all to watch!"

A girl squealed nearby. "Leon, I love you!"

"Thank you, thank you." Leon crossed his arms over his chest. "Thank you for your love and support— all of you!" He took a breath. "All of you should train every day, so that you can battle Charizard and me." His Charizard growled softly and lashed his tail.

"Well, I would, but your Charizard is too strong! I can't ever win against him!" A boy frowned, watching Leon. 

Leon smiled. "It's true that Charizard here is extremely powerful, but I believe that other Pokémon can be just as strong— if not, stronger than him!" Charizard huffed a puff of smoke, most likely upset that his Trainer said someone else was stronger than him.

"Lee!" A voice called out from the back of the crowd.

Leon froze. He knew that voice! He took a step forward and the crowd parted, allowing him to see his brother. "Hop!" A chuckle escaped his lips. "So, my number one fan has come here to pick me up." He walked to his brother and wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug.

"I've missed you so much, Lee," Hop gasped out as his breath escaped him. Gloria snickered, watching her friend's reunion with his brother. Leon stopped and turned to her, letting go of Hop. 

"And you must be. . ." Leon trailed off, biting his lip, as he looked at Gloria.

Gloria smirked. "I'm—"

"Wait, _Gloria?"_ Her mood deflated as Leon said her name. "Wow, it's been so long since I saw you last, five years at least." He went to her, and she stepped back, not wanting to be hugged like Hop was. "Wow, you've grown a lot since you were what, ten?" He rubbed her head.

"Yes, I'm fifteen now, so five years ago I would be ten." Gloria fixed her hair, frowning at Leon.

"Right." Leon nodded, smiling. "If you and Hop were to be rivals, I'm sure that he'd push you to be your strongest, and vice versa." He took a breath and turned around to look at the small crowd. "It pains me to leave you all like this, don't you fret!" He struck his pose. "I'll make sure everyone here in Galar can have a Champion time!" The town cheered at his statement.

"Let's go back home now," Hop whispered, nudging Gloria's arm. Leon nodded, hearing him.

Then, without warning, the violet-haired Champion began sprinting down the path, in the direction of his home.

"Wait!" Hop called out after him, only to realize that his shouts were in vain. He looked at Gloria. "We'd better hurry after him, or else he might get lost. Come on!"

Immediately the two began running up the path, chasing after the Champion.

⚔️ 🛡

"Come on, Lee!" Hop complained, following his brother all around his home. When Leon failed to acknowledge him, he groaned. "Gloriaaaa! Help meeeee!"

"Nope, sorry," Gloria replied to him. "I'm helping your mum make dinner. Besides, I'm sure you can convince him to give you your present."

"Ughhhhhh." He sighed. "You're no help."

"Thanks for noticing." Gloria smiled to herself as she heard Hop's exasperated growl.

"Murrrrow?" Gloria glanced down as she saw Hop's Purrloin run against her leg. "Purrrow?" Her emerald eyes locked onto Gloria's own, and instantly Gloria felt her heard melt. How could she not share some food with such a cute Pokémon?

Sparing a glance at Hop's mum, she saw that the woman was washing some vegetables in the sink. Gloria quickly grabbed a slice of the sausage in front of her and dropped it down onto the floor. She could hear the Purrloin as she purred loudly for her meal.

"Lee, please?! You promised me a present, and I want to know what it is!" Hop's whining made her look up, half afraid someone would notice her feeding the Purrloin.

"Alright, fine," Leon finally caved in. Or maybe he was enjoying his time annoying his brother. His next words caught Gloria by surprise. "But get Gloria too; I have something for her as well."

Gloria stiffened. _Leon_ had something for _her?_ The idea was driving her crazy. Leon, the Champion of Galar, had something he wanted to give to her, out of all people. Well, her and Hop.

"Gloria!" Hop called down the stairs and ran into the kitchen. "Gloria! Lee's going to give us our presents now! He says we need to go outside though!"

"'Us'?" Gloria questioned, pretending like she didn't understand.

"Yeah!" Hop bounced a few times. "Hurry up!" And then he was outside. Leon walked down the stairs and left with him shortly after.

Gloria bit her lip and glanced at Hop's mum. "Miss—"

"Oh, don't worry, dear. I'll fix the rest of dinner. You go along and see what the boys have for you." Hop's mum smiled kindly and walked to her.

"Thank you so much," Gloria told her before heading outside to meet the two brothers. (Thank goodness no one noticed the Purrloin's extra food!)

"Great, so now that you're both here. . ." Leon trailed off, glancing between the two teenagers. A small smirk formed on his face, only caught by Gloria.

"Lee! Tell us, please! The suspense is killing me here, literally!" Hop frowned. Gloria held back a response.

"Okay, okay." Leon took a breath. "Your greatest gift from your greatest Champion!" He reaches behind him, pulling out three shiny red Poké Balls. "It's show time, everyone!"

The moment he tossed the Balls, everything came to life. The balls opened immediately, revealing three Pokémon: a green monkey named Grookey, a white and orange rabbit called Scorbunny, and a blue lizard with a yellow fin on its head, going by the name of Sobble.

They all three landed on the earth, and then began running around. Gloria watched in fascination as Grookey ran towards a tall oak, and Sobble jumped into a pond below. Scorbunny jumped up and down in place, its footsteps creating small patches of embers everywhere but went.

Grookey jumped along the tree and found itself on a branch with a Sitrus Berry. It smiled and pulled the stick from its head, hitting it repeatedly on the berry.

Meanwhile, Sobble was floating in the water, eyes closed and relaxed. It spat out a small stream of water from its mouth, hitting and startling Scorbunny.

The rabbit panicked and jumped around, trying its hardest to get the liquid off of it. It leapt up, hitting the branch with Grookey and the Sitrus Berry.

Down and down the berry fell, landing beside Sobble with a splash. Sobble ran from the water, terrified. Its lip quivered and it began crying from fright. Scorbunny and Grookey quickly rushed to its side, speaking words of comfort. Sobble sniffled and then seemed fine. A smile came across its face.

"Alright, now!" Leon smiled seeing the starters' antics. "Line up, everyone!"

The three Pokémon came forward, all smiling and ready for the journey ahead.

"Which one will you choose?" Leon turned his head to Gloria and Hop. Gloria smiled, seeing exactly who she wanted.

"You choose first, Gloria," Hop told her, stepping back. "I already have my Wooloo, after all!" Even still, she could tell that he was still extremely excited about getting his Pokémon.

"Alright. . ." Gloria trailed off, looking at the three Pokémon. She glanced at Leon, then at Hop, then back again.

If Leon has become so powerful with a Fire-Type, why couldn't she? Besides, Scorbunny seemed to be the strongest out of the three. . .

Gloria leaned down in front of Scorbunny. "Would you like to be my partner?" Scorbunny blinked and bounced up and down, nodding and beaming, making Gloria laugh. "How about I call you. . ." She pauses for a second. "Tuff, after the fiery volcano you and I will become."

"Okay, then!" Leon laughed. "Tuff's all yours! Hop?"

Hop stepped forward. "So you've picked Scorbunny?" He went past Gloria. "Then I'll pick Grookey!" Grookey nodded, running to him. "You and I'll have to do some serious training, if we want to become the next Champions!" Grookey cheered, hitting him on his head with its stick. "I'll call you Nori."

Gloria laughed softly, picking up her Tuff. She looked at the final starter, Sobble, and immediately guilt rushed over her.

Sobble was looking between its two friends, seeing them with Trainers. It closed its eyes and started crying loudly.

"Aw, don't cry." Leon kneeled down. "I'll be more than happy to have you as my partner. Charizard's tough, but he's real sweet too. How about it?"

Sobble hesitated and wiped its eyes. "Ble." It nodded, watching Leon.

"Okay, I think that's enough Trainer nonsense for one night!" Hop's mum walked outside, carrying plates of food. "Dinner's ready, so eat up!"

With the sun setting behind them and freshly made sausage curry, Gloria and Hop ate up their food. It tasted all the better with their new Pokémon with them.

And thus began the story of Gloria Shield.

⚔️ 🛡  
  


**Tuff (n):**

A type of volcanic rock made from hardened ash

  
**Nori (adj):**

Japanese in origin; means “excitement or rhythm.” Is also the last part of Grookey’s Japanese name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!
> 
> Yes, I have started yet another story (whydoidothistomyself??). Anyway, I have high hopes for this one, and I know it's going to turn out good. 
> 
> Which of the three Galar starters would you choose?
> 
> At least for me, I'm staying loyal to Sobble (Even if his evolution isn't that good).


	2. Unforeseen Danger

A misty fog covered the air as Gloria left her home, Tuff in her bag. She had arrived home extremely late, and now was having to pay the price; Hop had told her to be at his house at 10.

_Thump_.

Gloria squeaked in alarm and turned her head, only to see the Wooloo from the day before rolling into the fence gate again. She sighed.

"You should know that you're not allowed past here," Gloria told it, going to it. She checked quickly to see if the lock was still there; the last thing she wanted was to have to go into the Slumbering Weald In order to save a crazy Wooloo.

The lock was still intact around the gate, but it seemed to be a bit loose.

"Bun!" Tuff tapped her head with its paws. "Scor _bun!" _It sounded impatient. 

"Right, right. Hop first, Wooloo second." Gloria took a few steps back, realizing what time it was as she checked her new Rotom-Phone screen.

10:03.

"Oh no! No no no!" Gloria started running as fast as her legs could take her, leaving the Wooloo to its hopeless quest to knock back the gate. _It's only my first day with Tuff, and I'm already late to meet Hop!_ She sprinted down the path that led her to her friend's.

"Hop! Hop, I'm sorry I'm late!" Gloria stopped once she reached his front yard, placing her hands on her knees and taking huge gulps of air.

Hop turned around, seeing her. He blinked a few times before smiling. "It's no biggie! There's no need to worry!" He patted her back.

The brunette took a final breath before standing up straight. Tuff wiggled in her bag and jumped out to play with Hop's Grookey, Nori.

"So, what was so important that you had to text me at two this morning to tell me that I had to be here at ten?" Gloria put her hands on her hips and looked at Hop, waiting for a reply.

Hop blinked. "What were you doing at two in the morning?"

Gloria sighed. "Fine, don't tell me. See if I—"

"Sorry to keep you both waiting." The two turned their heads, only to see Leon standing there behind them. He had on an old t-shirt with a Charizard design on the front, as well as gray sweatpants. His purple hair was a mess and it covered his face and back.

"Even as the Champion, its hard to wake up early." He stretched his arms above his head.

"Lee, you told me to be awake at this time, and Gloria too." Hop crossed his arms.

"Did I say that?" Leon raised an eyebrow at his brother. "I don't remember." Amusement sparkled in his eyes as Hop puffed his cheeks out in annoyance. He cut him off before he could say anything. "So, did the two of you have a good night with your Pokémon?"

"I—"

"Yep!" Gloria interrupted Hop. "I learned a lot about Tuff, and we're already really close friends!" She beamed.

"Yeah, me too." Hop sighed, most likely giving up on saying anything after being cut off twice.

"That's great to hear." Leon tossed a Poké Ball up and down in his hand "So," he stopped and looked at them, "if you believe in yourself and your Pokémon, then you can surely do anything. You have to build up trust in order to be able to get stronger." He turned his head to Gloria and looked her right in her brown eyes. "And who knows, someday you might even become strong enough to take on me, the unbeatable Champion!"

"W-wait, Lee!" Hop ran in front of Gloria. "Why are you looking at her?! I'm your brother! I'm going to be the next Champion!" 

"Calm down, Hop." Gloria walked beside him. "You're getting too worked up about something that doesn't even matter." Hop crossed his arms and looked down, grumbling to himself.

"You know, she's right," Leon spoke up. "You need to control yourself."

Hop took a few seconds to collect himself. "Fine, if you think she might be able to challenge you, then that makes her my first rival then, right Gloria?"

"Uh, I guess?" Gloria shrugged, not following the conversation.

"Good." He nodded. "Now, since you and I are officially rivals now, I know I'm not going to lose to you in any battle. I'll be an unbeatable Champion, just like Lee!"

Leon chuckled. "Oh, and you think you're such an unbeatable Trainer already, Hop?" His lips curved into a smile. "I'll be the judge of that!" He stepped back. "Let's all see how well you go against your rival, Hop, in a Pokémon Battle!"

"Oh, uh." Hop bit his lip. "Don't you think this is a little unfair to—"

"I'm down for that!" Gloria grinned, her gaze on Leon.

"Of course you are. . ." Hop groaned.

Leon nodded at them both. "Alright, then. Call your Pokémon back to you, and let's begin this!"

"N-Nori!"

"Tuff!" The Rabbit Pokémon looked up and ran in front of Gloria, more than ready to fight.

"You know, maybe we shouldn't do this," Hop said quietly, eyeing Gloria. 

"What's wrong, you scared?" Gloria taunted.

"No! I just. . . Don't want to hurt your Pokémon, that's all."

Gloria sighed. "If you don't wanna battle, just say so. If you want to call it quits, I'll be more than happy to accept the glory of winning."

The teen bit his lip before setting himself into a fighting stance. "Alright, fine! I'll battle you, and I'll win! I- I watched every match Lee's had, and read all of his books about Pokémon battles, so I'm prepared." He gulped. "Okay, Wooloo, I choose you first!" Nori was sitting in his shoulder.

"You get first move," Gloria called out to him. Tuff bounced from foot to foot, eager for a fight. It rubbed its paws together, creating small embers in between them.

"Tackle!" Hop commanded. His Wooloo jumped up in the air before curling himself into a ball and barreling right into Tuff's side, crushing the poor Scorbunny. A ghost of a smile came upon Hop's face; could he actually win this?

Gloria noticed his newly-gained confidence. Secretly, she was glad to have helped him feel better about battling her; that's why she let him attack first.

"Okay, now it's my turn." She thought quickly. "Tuff, use Tackle as well!" 

"Defense Curl!" Hop yelled at his Pokémon. 

Wooloo curled up into a tight ball as the Scorbunny ran to him, ready to strike. And the , at the last second, the Wooloo rolled to the side, avoiding the Tackle attack.

"Huh?!" Gloria was caught off-guard by the sudden movement.

However, with the target now gone, and no way at all for Tuff to slow down in time, it crashed into Hop's legs, knocking him down.

"Oh no! Hop!" Gloria ran across the mini battle field and stopped at her friend's side. "Are you okay?" Nori sure didn't seem too pleased.

"I-I'm fine." Hop glanced away. "Let's keep battling."

Gloria bit her lip, glancing at Leon. If she had attacked Hop, then that meant that he won by default, right?

"If he's saying he's fine, then battle on," Leon told her, his arms over his chest. "Normally, you would be disqualified in an official match, but this isn't that. Besides, the move you used is weak, and I know that Hop can handle it, can't you Hop?”

"Yep. . ." Hop gave a thumbs-up, forcing a smile. Gloria stretched her arm down to him, and he gratefully took it. She pulled him to her feet.

"Now we're even," she whispered, smiling a tiny bit.

Hop laughed. "Oh, it's on now!"

"That's the excitement I wanted to see!" Gloria told him, going back to her own side. Tuff and Wooloo went in front of their respective Trainers, ready to resume the match.

"Oh, um, Tackle!" Hop seemed a bit surprised by Gloria's comment.

"You use Tackle too!" Gloria commanded to Tuff.

Wooloo curled up for his attack, while Tuff ran towards them. Their attacks hit their targets, and both Pokémon staggered, feeling the full blunt of the attacks. Then, the Wooloo collapsed onto his side before being recalled back into his Poké Ball.

"It was. . . a Critical Hit?" Hop questioned aloud. He glanced at his Grookey, about to send it into battle.

Gloria noticed something right then. Watching Tuff, she saw that it was rubbing its paws, tiny embers coming out from the friction. _Fire_. . .

_The most basic Fire move. . ._

"Nori, go on and show them what we're made of!" Hop stuck his arm out, and Nori raced down to the ground. It beat its stick on the ground, eyeing Tuff's every movement.

This only seemed to make Tuff more pumped, as it rubbed its paws faster, making sure to keep its gaze on its opponent.

"Tuff, use Ember!"

Tuff rubbed its paws once more, this time creating a flame in its paws. However, rather than being terrified (like Gloria would have been), Tuff swung its arm back and threw the tiny ball of fire at Nori.

Hop, having been too mesmerized by Tuff's new move, was unable to react quick enough. He flinched when his Grookey fell, its leafy skin charred black. (_How did she know about Type-matchups??)_

"N-Nori, use—"

"Ember once more!" Gloria gave him no time to finish. What started off as a simple battle now turned into a fight that Gloria _had_ to win. She could feel it rushing in her, boiling her blood to the point that she would do anything to become the victor.

"Dodge it quickly!"

Nori barely managed to jump out of the way. Its stick wasn't so lucky though. The piece of wood was set ablaze, flames licking every inch of it.

"Groo- _KEY!"_ Nori charged at Tuff, too blinded by its own anger. It ignored Hop's yells for it to come back, and instead began using Scratch over and over on Tuff.

Tuff growled and rubbed its paws, smoke rising from the friction. Then, it simply touched Nori. The heat itself was enough to knock out the Pokémon, and it was called back into its Poké Ball silently. The battle was over.

Gloria had won.

But, she didn't feel like she did. Or at least, not fairly. She dropped her bag onto the ground and rushed towards Hop, leaving Tuff behind.

Hop's lip was quivering slightly, his gaze locked on the charred stick his Grookey had had.

Leon said nothing as he went to Tuff and healed its injuries. He watched as Gloria wrapped her arm around Hop's shoulders, whispering small words of encouragement.

"You and your Pokémon were super strong. . . Tuff and I had a really hard time battling against you. . . You'll only get better over time." Nothing seemed to work, so Gloria added jokingly, "Better be careful; if Leon sees you crying like this after just one battle, he might just give you the crying Sobble instead."

_That_ seemed to raise Hop's spirits a little. He rubbed his eyes, smiling. "Thanks, Gloria. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."

"I'm sure you'd cope just fine without me," she replied, looking at him.

"Alright, alright. That's enough for one day, you two Luvdiscs." Leon pushed them both apart, looking between the two of them.

He fixed his gaze on the brunette first. "Gloria, you did amazing recognizing your Scorbunny's attacks. You both cooperated extremely well for having only just met. I know I made the right choice in letting you pick your Starter."

Gloria looked at Hop.

"And Hop," he turned to his brother. "You and your two Pokémon fought really good. You and your Pokémon were able to get back up, even after being hit multiple times. The only thing I ask that you fix is that attitude after losing. You aren't going to win every battle that comes your way, alright?"

Hop nodded quietly.

"Hey, Gloria. I have a favor to ask of you." Leon looked at her. "Since you both have your Starter Pokémon now, I assume you both want to leave this small town and explore the world." He closed his eyes for a moment. "Please, Gloria, promise to be a good rival for my little brother. Push him to be his best, and the both of you will succeed."

"Of cour—"

"I'm already going to succeed," Hop cut her off, earning himself an annoyed glare. "I'm going to take on the Gym Challenge and win!"

"You? The Gym Challenge?" Leon raised an eyebrow at Hop. "Don't you think you're putting the cart before the Rapidash there, little brother?" He put his hands on his hips. "Both of you have a lot to improve upon before you go taking on the Gyms." He glanced at Gloria. "Before you even think about getting Gym Badges, I suggest you get yourselves a Pokédex first."

"Right!" Hop grinned, his enthusiasm returning. "Pokédexes, then! You've got it!"

"Alright, alright, Hop." Leon laughed warmly. "I'll let Professor Magnolia know to expect you two." He stretched his arms. "Well, I'm going to go back inside and change into my Champion outfit." He gestured to the t-shirt he was still wearing. "Gloria, you'd better go tell your mum everything that's going on."

Gloria nodded. "Sure, I'll do that."

"Great." Leon turned and walked to his front door. "Meet me back here in about half an hour." He went inside.

"I guess I'm going with you, then," Hop said, looking at Gloria. "Come on, let's go talk to your mum, and get on with our journey!" He ran ahead to the edge of his yard and looked back at Gloria. "Come on! I want to race you!"

"Calm down, Hop." Gloria laughed at her friend's excitement and picked up her bag, which Tuff jumped into. "Leon said we need to be back in thirty minutes, so we have more than enough time to do everything. There's no need to rush."

"I know, but still! You're so slow!" He bounced from foot to foot.

"Alright, fine. I'll race you." She checked really quick that Tuff was safely stored in her bag before going to Hop. "Ready? Go!"

Hop took off running as fast as he could, never once looking back. Gloria smiled in amusement and walked after him.

"Scor!" Tuff complained, hitting Gloria's head with its paws. "Scorbun!" It was obviously annoyed that Gloria was going so slow and purposefully making Hop win.

Gloria ignored her partner's shouts and carried on walking. True, she liked to win, but she also enjoyed being relaxed. Unlike Hop, she valued people's placid behaviors.

"Gloria!" Hop yelled. "Why do you never want to actually race?"

Gloria shrugged, finally catching up to him. "I'm just not in the mood right now." She looked around herself, only to freeze as she saw something.

The gate was open.

The Wooloo, who had been rolling into the gate for so long, was gone. Gloria broke off from Hop and rushed to the open gate, noticing that the lock was broken. _This is my fault! Ugh! I should've done something instead of leaving to meet Hop!_

"Oh no!" Hop ran to her. "If the gate's open, do you think that. . ."

"Yes," Gloria told him solemnly. "The Wooloo's in there."

Hop shuddered. "You're not saying that we're actually going into the Slumbering Weald, are you? I heard that the Professor's granddaughters went in there once when they were younger, and they came back covered in cuts and bruises."

"I never said you had to come."

"I— you—" Hop struggled for words. "I'm going with you then. I'll help you."

"Your Wooloo and Grookey are fainted still from our battle, remember?" Gloria glanced at Tuff. "Sorry about that, by the way."

"I'm still coming!" Hop insisted. "I'll protect you as we're going in there."

A small smile spread across Gloria's face. "Okay, fine. Let's go, then." Without warning, she rushed into the densely packed forest.

⚔️ 🛡

Fog.

The stuff was everywhere the eye could see. All around, the cloudy fog obscured Gloria's vision as she tried seeing ahead of herself. Even trees only five meters ahead had become invisible.

"I don't like this one bit," Hop whispered from behind Gloria. "It's quiet. Too quiet."

"It's peaceful," Gloria corrected, walking down a dirt path. The grass swayed and tree branches rustled, adding character to this silent world. "I honestly feel like I could live here because of how calm everything is."

"Yeah, well let's just get that Wooloo and leave this place as soon as we can; I don't want to be here any more than I have to."

Gloria nodded, walking forward still. She reached a patch of grass and looked around. There didn't seem to be any wild Pokémon. _Odd_. . . She kept moving, searching for any signs of life.

_"Grrrrrriiieeeld!"_

The brunette stiffened as she heard a howl from nearby. Her hands quivered and she glanced at Hop.

"That sounded like it was coming from up ahead," Hop breathed. "I think it was a Pokémon howling."

"I know. Let's hurry!" Gloria quickened her pace to a jog, with Hop tailing after her. With every step she took, the fog seemed to thicken.

_"Grrrrrriiieeeld!"_ The sound was much louder this time.

"That Wooloo could be in really serious trouble!" Hop put his hand on Gloria's shoulder. "Come on!"

Gloria began running ahead. A feeling of horror and dread began to wash over her as she could feel the eyes of hundreds of Pokémon staring at her.

"Wait, Gloria!" She halted as Hop caught up to her. Something wasn't right.

It was silent. The sounds of plants from earlier had ceased.

The silence itself felt deafening, as if it was something tangible that could grab ahold of Gloria and suck her breath away. _And no one would ever hear my shouts for help._

Gloria reached for Hop's hand and slowly walked forward. The fog was so thick she could barely make out her hand in front of her face. Neither of them said a word as Gloria led them deeper into the Slumbering Weald.

"This whole thing is crazy," Hop whispered. "I can't even see you, and you're right beside me."

"Yeah, I think I get now why this place is off-limits," Gloria responded softly, hoping to fill the quiet with something, anything.

"Yeah—" Hop's grip on her hand tightened. "Gloria, we're not the only ones here." His breathing was quick, as if he was scared.

As Gloria turned around, she saw why.

Through the fog, she could barely make out a creature. It was canine-shaped, standing nearly twice as tall as Gloria. She could only make out the outline of it, but whatever it was seemed to have thick fur around its neck and on the top of its head.

It raised its head to the sky. _"Grrrrrriiieeeld!"_

"T-Tuff!" Gloria shouted, watching as her Scorbunny rushed in front of her and Hop. "Use Ember!"

Tuff ignited its paws and threw the flames at the creature.

Nothing happened; the fire died out on contact.

The creature turned its gaze towards Gloria, it's malicious amber eyes glowing.

"Tackle!" Gloria screamed at Tuff, fear making her voice crack. She moved closer to Hop as she heard Tuff ran into the creature. Yet, the move still had no effect.

The creature's eyes narrowed to slits, still boring into Gloria. It growled, white clouds of fog surrounding it.

"Run!" She shouted, trying to leave, but she found herself unable to move.

"I can't see anything!" At that moment, Gloria was pried away from Hop. "Gloria! Are you okay!"

"Yeah, I'm—" Something rammed into Gloria's back. She screamed and fell to the ground.

"Gloria!!" Hop's voice sounded far away.

Gloria quickly got back up, her back in so much pain. "I'm right—" The creature hit her head.

And she was met by a wall of dirt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello once again, lovely readers!
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to read yet another chapter of Feeling of Glory. It really means a lot having people read and comment on my stories. 
> 
> Anyway, my question for you today is: Sword or Shield?
> 
> Originally, I was hoping to get Sword because Zacian is so much better-looking than Zamazenta (in my opinion anywa y). However, I think I'm going to end up getting Shield, since the gym leaders are 10x better than the Sword ones (in my opinion). 
> 
> And yep, that's right. Here I am, writing a SwSh story based on a game that I haven't even played. 
> 
> (...I'm ruining the games' story for myself by watching people play it...)


	3. New Partner

"Gloria? Gloria, are you okay? Wake up!"

"Ugh. . ." Gloria groaned and opened her eyes slowly. The first thing she saw was Hop's face as he knelt over her. His concerned look quickly melted into one of gratefulness.

"You're alive!" He stood up straight and stretched his arm out to Gloria.

"Yeah, I guess I am. . ." She lifted her arm up to him, only to wince in pain and let it fall at her side. "Ow, ow."

Instantly Hop was back at her side, worry lacing his features. "Are you okay? Can you get up?"

Gloria nodded her head. "I'm fine— it's nothing." Fighting through the pain, she sat upright. Her back ached and her head throbbed, leaving her in a very uncomfortable state.

"You're not fine," Hop told her, reading through her lie. Or perhaps he was looking at her face; Gloria was sure that she wasn't hiding her hurt that well. "Let me help you." He moved his arms toward her.

"No!" Gloria said suddenly. "I can get up, just. . . give me time."

"Hop! Gloria!" Hop whirled his head around, only to see his brother running towards them. He was wearing his Champion outfit, with his long ruby cape railing behind him. He stopped once he was beside them both. "I came running when you guys didn't show up. I've been waiting for nearly an hour, and I started to get—"

"Lee," Hop cut him off. "Gloria's hurt."

Leon tensed. "Gloria?" He crouched down next to her.

"I told Hop before that I'm fine." Gloria rubbed her arms with her hands, feeling embarrassed by the brothers' attention. "It's just a little bruise, that's all."

"She can't get up!" Hop told Leon, speaking for Gloria once again.

"I. . ." Leon began, but trailed off.

"Yes I can!" Gloria jumped to her feet, only to wince as her back burned. Her head felt fuzzy too, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She could feel herself shrink down from the unbearable pain in her head and back, and barely registered when Hop caught her in his arms.

"I've got you," he whispered into her ear. Gloria made no acknowledgement that she heard him, and still clutched her head as she waited for the pain to subside.

As she finally managed to regain herself, Gloria opened her eyes, looking first at Hop beside her, then at Leon. "I-I'm sorry about that," she whispered. "I stood up too fast. . ."

Neither person said anything for what seemed like forever. Finally Leon spoke up.

"How about we get you back to your house, Gloria? You can stay there until you're feeling better."

"What? No!" Gloria shook her head quickly, biting her lip as her headache returned. "I'm fine, I promise!" She moved away from Hop, as if proving her point.

Leon sighed. "Listen, I know that you want to appear strong and all in front of my brother—" Hop flinched "—but you need to realize when enough's enough."

"No," she argued. "I've been waiting for over a third of my life to finally get a Starter Pokémon, and now that I have one, you're telling me that I can't start my journey?!" She froze. "Wait, where's Tuff?" Her brown eyes searched around for the fiery Scorbunny.

"I returned it to its Poké Ball," Hop told her. "It's safe with me."

That apparently wasn't enough for Gloria. "What about the Wooloo? The whole reason we came here in the first place?" Her brown gaze searched Hop for an answer.

"If you're talking about this little guy, then he's fine." Leon pointed to a fluffy white Wooloo behind him. "Now, come on. Let's get you back to your house so you can rest."

Gloria said nothing, giving up her need to argue, and allowed Leon to lead the way out of the Slumbering Weald. The Wooloo bounced along beside him.

The sharp pain returned to Gloria's head, but she simply closed her eyes and tugged on Hop's arm. "My head hurts. . ." she said quietly.

"Well, yeah. I'm not surprised," Leon told her. She hadn't meant to have him hear, but he continued on. "From the looks of it, you got a mild concussion. That's why I'm bringing you back to your home."

No one said anything, until Leon spoke again. "What were you two even doing? Both of you seem to be in rough shape. . ." He trailed off and glanced back at them for a second.

"There was a Pokémon," Hop spoke up for Gloria and him. "It was huge and started attacking Gloria and me. I don't know why though." He took a breath. "But do you want to know the weirdest thing? None of Gloria's attacks did a thing when she tried to fight it!"

Leon stopped. "The Pokémon. . . in the Slumbering Weald. . ." Gloria heard him mutter.He quickly regained himself and turned to the teens with an obviously fake smile on his face. "There's no need to worry about that now, though. I'm pretty sure it was just an illusion, like from a Zoroark or some other creature."

Gloria and Hop shared a glance. Zoroarks? In Galar? The Pokémon hadn't been seen in the region for decades, due to the changing environment and decreasing prey. Still, neither one said anything, not wanting to go against what the Champion had said.

Leon blinked. "Let's get you back home, Gloria." He quickened his pace, his movements a bit more stiff.

"Even with the lecture from Lee, I'm pretty glad this happened. I mean, it makes a perfect start to my story!" Hop laughed quietly, hoping to cheer the mood.

Gloria smiled absentmindedly. She was thinking about how Leon had acted. He seemed. . . odd. _Could it be because of that strange Pokémon?_

⚔️ 🛡

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Gloria went in and out of consciousness in her bed, too tired to stay awake, yet too restless to stay asleep.

Her mum had told her to stay in bed and sleep for her head to heal from the concussion, as well as the big bruise on her back. If Gloria did just that, and was feeling better by the next morning, she would be allowed to leave on her Pokémon journey.

When she wasn't asleep, she chatted softly with Hop, who had insisted on staying with her. When she had asked him why, since it's "not like I'm dying," he replied, "I just want to be able to keep you company."

Before Gloria knew it, it was morning again. Hop was asleep on her floor, holding Nori. He was using his soft Wooloo as a pillow. A smile made its way to Gloria's face as she crawled out of her bed and made her way to the kitchen, where her mum was preparing breakfast.

"Oh, Gloria!" Her mum greeted her with a large smile. "You're awake." Gloria nodded. "You feeling better?"

"Yep!" Gloria grinned, looking at her mum's brown eyes, hidden behind her glasses. "What are you making for breakfast?" She glanced behind her.

"Pancakes," her mum replied, turning back around.

"Ooh, can I help?" Gloria hurried to her mum's side, eager to create a delicious breakfast.

"I don't see why not," her mum replied, moving to the side so that Gloria could help out.

Gloria glanced around the kitchen, seeing that the pancake batter was ready, as was the pan. She lifted up the mixing bowl, removing the whisk, and poured a little bit into the pan. She then tilted the pan so that the batter would coat the bottom evenly.

Grabbing a spatula, she scooped under the pancake and flipped it onto its other side. T he top of it was a perfect golden-brown.

"You're getting really good at this," her mum told her, sounding impressed.

"Thanks!" Gloria smiled.

Her mum kissed her forehead. "I'll leave you to your breakfast, and I'll go prepare the table; I've invited Hop and his brother to eat with us."

"Why not his mum?" Gloria asked, moving the finished pancake onto a plate. She poured some more batter into the pan.

"She has to work." Her mum smiled. "She says that she would do anything, though, to stay and eat breakfast with us."

Gloria nodded, returning to her task. She flipped the pancake.

It was when Gloria had finished her tenth pancake that Hop had decided to wake up finally.

"About time," Gloria joked, hearing him exit her room.

Hop didn't seem to hear her. "Something smells good."

"That's because I'm making pancakes," Gloria replied, turning over her newest one.

"I can't wait," he told her, then walked into the living room, past the kitchen. "Hey, Gloria, where's you're mum?"

Gloria turned around, seeing Hop with a confused expression on his face. Her mum was nowhere to be found. "She probably left already while I wasn't looking. She's getting your brother." She turned back to her pancake and quickly took it off the pan; it was beginning to blacken. She poured more batter. "Where are Nori and Wooloo?"

"Both sleeping." Hop walked up to Gloria and the pile of finished pancakes. "Does your head still hurt?" He asked suddenly.

Gloria shook her head. "A little," she confessed. "But I think that Mum would let me start my Pokémon journey finally." She cast a sideways glance at him for a second. "Thanks for staying with me, by the way. . . even if I didn't talk much. . ."

Hop smiled. "You don't need to thank me," he replied right as the front door opened. Hop jumped away from Gloria, startled, only to see a familiar purple-haired man. "Lee!"

Leon grinned, walking in. "Hey, Hop. And hello, Gloria. Glad to see you're feeling better." Gloria's mum stepped in behind him.

"Yes, I am," Gloria said, pouring the last of the batter into the pan. "Hop, can you go ahead and hand out the pancakes?" she asked whilst running her finger along the inside of the bowl and licking it. So what if she got sick from it? It would all be worth it as long as she could get just a little bit of raw pancake batter.

Hop got four plates and put three pancakes on each, with a few still left over. He spread them out along the counter, and Gloria opened the kitchen cabinet to pull out a jar of powdered sugar. She got a spoonful and sprinkled it over each of the pancakes.

"Okay! All ready!" She picked up two of the plates and carried them to the table, where Leon and her mum were waiting. Hop brought over the last two plates and placed them where he and Gloria would sit.

Gloria sat down and gazed at her thin, perfectly-cooked pancakes. Stabbing a piece with her fork, she took a bite.

Pancakes had never tasted better.

⚔️ 🛡

"Scor! Bun! Scorbun!"

Gloria jogged after Hop and Nori, Tuff hitting her shoulders in an effort to "encourage her".

"Gee, Tuff," Gloria told her partner, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you're trying to give me another headache." Tuff stopped hitting her after that. Her mum had agreed to let her start her Pokémon journey, since she seemed to be mostly healed.

Gloria eventually caught up to Hop. He was standing in a patch of grass, looking around himself. Nori perched on his shoulder, holding a new stick (probably from a tree nearby).

"Oh, Gloria!" Hop turned around as he heard her arrive. "You took long enough! I was beginning to think that you changed your mind about wanting to be a Pokémon Trainer!" He grinned.

"After everything I've done to get even this far?" Gloria smiled. "No way!"

Hop laughed softly. "Anyway, remember how Lee said that the first step to being a Trainer is having a Pokédex?" The brunette nodded. "Well, he told me that we can get one in that building over there." He pointed to a large purple and white building in Wedgehurst. "That's where Professor Magnolia and her granddaughter work, and it's also where you can get a Pokédex!"

Gloria tilted her head. "What about you? Aren't you going to get a Pokédex, too?"

"Yeah," Hop told her. He glanced at Nori. "But I'll do it later, after I catch a few Pokémon."

"Ah." Gloria nodded slowly, understanding. "Well, I'll see you later then." She started to walk past him, heading towards Wedgehurst.

"Wait, Gloria!" She turned around, looking at Hop.

"What's up?"

"I, uh. . ." He bit his lip. "Here." He tossed her a handful of Poké Balls. "For catching a Pokémon."

Gloria smiled. "Thanks, Hop." She put the Balls into her bag, beside Tuff. "Bye!" She turned and hurried down Route One, wanting to get her Pokédex as soon as possible.

As she entered Wedgehurst, she saw Leon's Charizard standing in front of the train station, surrounded by children and adults. He seemed pretty proud with all the attention.

Gloria smiled and rolled her eyes before turning right, where the purple building stood. She blinked, noticing Leon standing in front, seemingly waiting for her.

"Where's Hop?" He asked as she neared him.

"Catching Pokémon out on Route One," she answered.

Leon nodded. "Well, he'll just have to get his 'Dex later, because I'm not waiting for him. Anyway, you ready?"

"Yeah," Gloria said to him, glancing at Tuff for a second. Her Scorbunny nodded. "We're both ready to get our Pokédexes and catch Pokémon."

"Then let's go in." Leon opened the door and waited for her to enter. She walked past him and inside the building.

The first thing she noticed were the books. Everywhere, on the shelves, and on piles on the floor.

Moving away from the library aspect of the building, she saw that it was actually a rather large place. There were stairs leading up to more shelves of books along the back wall. At the opposite end of the room was a board with pictures and words on it. From where she was standing, Gloria was too far away to be able to make out any of the words.

"Yamp! Yamp!" A cream-colored Pokémon ran up to the two of them. It was small and had four short legs, with a white face and belly.

"Ah! Yamper!" Leon kneeled down, letting the puppy run into his arms and lick his face. "Aw, you're as sweet as ever!"

"Yes, I know. . . Alright, see you then. . ." Gloria lifted her gaze away from Leon to see a woman holding her phone between her cheek and shoulder. She had vibrant orange hair and a light brown coat, from what Gloria could see. She was searching through the collection of books all around herself. "Love you too. Bye." She ended the call with whoever she was talking to. She had to see Gloria and Leon.

"Hey, Sonia!" Leon called out to the woman.

She whirled around, eyes wide. Her hands slipped however, sending the stack of books in her hands down to the floor she was standing on. "Leon!" She shouted, in a not-so-welcoming voice. "How many times do I have to tell you to not scare me like that?"

"Sorry," Leon replied, not sounding very sorry at all. He pet the puppy Pokémon. "Anyway, So, how are you doing? It's been so long since I've seen you last."

"I was doing better before you came by," Sonia replied, walking down the stairs and walking to him and Gloria, arms crossed. "I just got done talking with Rose, by the way."

Leon nodded slowly. "Rose. . . Wait, which Rose?"

Sonia rolled her eyes. "My little sister."

"You're both the same age," Leon muttered to himself. Sonia didn't hear him. Or, if she did, she chose to ignore what he said. "Yeah, Rose," he said louder. "I miss her."

Sonia frowned slightly and continued. "She says that she's coming over to visit in a few days, so. . ." Sonia trailed off and twirled her hair in between her fingers.

"Well, sorry to interrupt you two, but I'm here too," Gloria stated softly.

"Oh, right!" Leon grinned and looked at her. "Gloria, this is Sonia. Her cooking is the best!"

"What kind of introduction is that?" Sonia put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at Leon. She looked back at Gloria. "I'm sorry about Leon; he's so immature." She sighed. "Anyway, I'm guessing you're here for the Pokédex?"

_About time._ Gloria nodded.

"May I see your Rotom Phone, then?"

"Yeah." Gloria reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone. It was bright red and had a Rotom pattern on the back. She gave it to Sonia.

"Well, I'll leave you two for now; I've got to go see how Hop's doing." Leon walked toward the door to leave. "Bye Sonia, you're beautiful!" And then he was gone.

A light pink made its way to Sonia's cheeks, but she simply rolled her eyes. "So immature." She led Sonia to the back of the room, holding her phone. She plugged it into a laptop and began typing into it.

"I am uploading the most updated version of the Pokédex that my grandmother created. She currently isn't here right now, as you can see, but she would be more than glad to share her information with Trainers like yourself." She unplugged the phone and handed it back to Gloria. "There you go- the complete Pokédex."

"Thank you." Gloria took back her phone gratefully.

"Scor!" Tuff nudged her shoulder impatiently.

"Okay, okay, calm down." She loosened her bag so that Tuff could get out. Then she started up the new app on her phone and held it up to her partner. Instantly, information popped up on the screen.

_Scorbunny, the Rabbit Pokémon_

_Type: Fire_

_"A warm-up of running around gets fire coursing through this Pokémon's body. Once that happens, it's ready to fight at full power. It has three pads on the backs of its feet, and one on its nose. When it's raring to fight, these pads radiate tremendous heat."_

_—————_

_Nickname: Tuff_

_Level: 8_

_Gender: Female_

_"Hasty" nature_

Gloria read through her Pokémon's information, pausing at the third-to-last word.

"You're a girl?" She looked at Tuff with wide and surprised eyes. Tuff simply crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at Gloria. "Right, sorry. That probably sounded rude." She sighed, then looked back at Sonia. "Thank you so much!"

Sonia nodded, beginning to walk back up the stairs. "Anytime." Her Yamper barked a farewell to Gloria as she left.

"Bunny!" Tuff ran ahead of her, leading the way through Wedgehurst and towards Route Two.

_Maybe I'll catch a Pokémon or two, while I wait for Hop,_ Gloria thought, noticing the vast stretches of grass ahead of her. She walked past Tuff, pulling out one of Hop's gifted Poké Balls from her pocket.

She noticed a black-and-white creature, only about a foot in height. It ran back in forth, hopping from one direction to the other.

"Hey," Gloria called out to it. It froze and turned to her, its bright pink eyes lighting up as it saw her.

"Zig!" It cheered as it zigzagged through the grass to reach Gloria. Immediately Tuff jumped in front of her Trainer, preparing to attack.

The strange Pokémon stopped and sat down, tilting its head to the side at Tuff, before looking up at Gloria. "Zag?"

Gloria bit her lip; she wanted this Pokémon so badly! But. . . in order to catch it, she would need to fight it. And she just couldn't bring herself to shout a command for Tuff to attack it. She took a breath and tossed the Poké Ball at the Pokémon, praying that, by some miracle, it would stay in the Ball.

The Ball clicked after a few seconds, signaling a successful capture. Gloria let out a sigh of relief and picked up her newest Team member's Poké Ball. She had done it! She had caught a new Pokémon!

The brunette smiled and opened the Poké Ball, letting out her Pokémon. It materialized onto the ground and shook out its long fur before looking up at Gloria with those huge pink eyes.

"Goon!" It rolled onto its back, looking at Tuff. The Fire-Type made no movement to introduce herself; she just stood beside Gloria, glaring at the newest Party Pokémon.

_"Zigzagoon, the Tiny Raccoon Pokémon,"_ Gloria read aloud from her new Pokédex app. _"Type: Dark and Normal. Its restlessness has it constantly running around. If it sees another Pokémon, it will purposely run into them in order to start a fight. It's thought to be the oldest form of Zigzagoon, and it zigzags as it moves." _She looked at her Zigzagoon. "That doesn't sound like you at all." She leaned down and put her hand near the Zigzagoon. It quickly jumped up and ran to lick her hand. Gloria laughed quietly and read its personal data.

_"Level: 5. Gender: Female. 'Jolly' nature."_ She pet her Pokémon's head. "How about Penny? How's that as a name?"

The Zigzagoon blinked her bright eyes and smiled. "Zigzag!" She cheered, seeming to love the name.

"Alright, Penny it is!" Gloria scooped Penny into her arms and looked at Tuff. "Come on! Let's go catch some more Pokémon!"

Tuff sighed before following her Trainer deeper into Route Two. For once, she didn't seem too eager to speed along with her journey.

Gloria, however, was having the time of her life running around with Penny, exploring the area and looking at different Pokémon.

"Rook!" A winged blue-and black bird flew in front of her. It was small and had yellow breast feathers. Its beak was gray. Tuff's mood lightened as Gloria looked at her.

"Tuff, use Tackle!"

**Sorry for such the long update. From now on, I'm going to be updating this story whenever I can (which will ho** **pefully be often). Please remember that I have school and other activities that I do other than writing, although writing is one of my favorite things to do.**

**However, I have all week off next week, so you know I'll be working on the next few parts during that!**

**(Wow, when I was first writing this story, I told myself the chapters would be only about 1,000 words. . . Well, 3,500 words later. . .)**

**Anyway, question: Best Galar form?**

**At least for me, it would be Zigzagoon or Stunfisk, although Yamask and Corsola are really cool too!**

**(Also, completely random: I just got into Hamilton a few days ago, and have since been listening to the soundtrack while writing this. It's so good!!!)**


	4. Endorsement . . . ?

_Rookidee, the Tiny Bird Pokémon_

_Type: Flying_

_"It will bravely challenge any opponent, no matter how powerful. This Pokémon benefits from every battle—even a defeat increases its strength a bit. Jumping nimbly about, this small-bodied Pokémon takes advantage of even the slightest opportunity to disor_ient larger opponents."

—————

_Level: 6_

_Gender: Male_

_"Bold" nature_

Gloria looked at her newest addition to her party, a Rookidee. He stayed near Tuff, keeping silent as he glared at his Trainer with red eyes.

"Listen, I know you're probably pretty annoyed at me," Gloria said to him, kneeling down to look at him better. "How about you and I just try to get along though, alright?"

Rookidee picked through some feathers on the underside of his wing, paying her no attention.

"Valiant?" Gloria bit her lip as she said his new name. The Rookidee froze and glanced at Gloria for a second. "You like that name, don't you?" Gloria smiled.

"Dee," Valiant scoffed, turning his head away. However, Gloria could still notice the small bit of pride on his face at his new name.

"Valiant it is, then!" Gloria grinned, looking at her Team, already half-full.

"Hey, Gloria!" Hop bounded towards his friend. Gloria quickly returned Penny and Valiant, wanting to keep her Team a secret until she had to fight Hop.

"Hi, Hop." She turned around to look at him, putting her two Poké Balls into her pocket. Tuff glanced at Hop, a slightly-annoyed expression on her face. She went back to Gloria, her front paws crossed.

Hop frowned slightly. "Is Tuff alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine."_ I think_. "Anyway, ready to continue on our journey?"

"Yep!" Hop threw his fist into the air. "I've got my Pokédex, and a new partner!"

"Nice!" Gloria smiled at him and Nori. The grass monkey eyed Tuff warily, clutching his new stick tightly.

"So, did you catch any new Pokémon?" Hop walked to Gloria.

"I've caught a couple," she replied, pulling out her two Poké Balls. "But I'm not going to tell you what they are until we battle next."

Hop pretended to be annoyed. "Aw, fine." He sighed, only to jump out of his skin as a hand clasped down onto his shoulder.

"Hello, you two!" Leon's booming voice startled Gloria.

"H-hi, Lee. . ." Hop muttered, recovering from his shock. Gloria laughed softly and patted his back.

"So, now it's time for me to show you how to catch a Pokémon!" Leon brought out a Poké Ball.

"No thanks." Gloria held up her own two for him to see. "I've already got that part down."

Leon blinked, not sure what to do or say. "Oh," was the only word that escaped his mouth. He cleared his throat. "Well, then I guess I'll leave, since you both don't need me around." He transferred his weight to one foot, then the other, uncomfortable.

"I didn't mean it like that," Gloria told him, starting to feel a bit bad.

"It's fine." Leon coughed. "Um, here, a gift from my soon-to-be girlfriend." He handed them each a few dozen Poké Balls. "For your journey."

"Thanks. . ." Gloria put them into her bag, not sure how she was able to fit so much into it. _Maybe it's bigger on the inside. ._ . She smiled to herself._ Time Lord magic._

"Well, bye!" Leon swished his cape behind him and ran ahead down Route Two.

"That was strange. . ." Hop muttered, then looked at Gloria. "Anyway, you know who he was talking about, right?"

Gloria looked at him. "His 'girlfriend'? Yeah."

Hop nodded. "Good, because I don't really feel like explaining it all."

_Yeah, it's pretty obvious who he's talking about._ Gloria was silent. "How about we follow Leon?"

Hop's eyes widened. "You're right! What if he gets lost?" He started running in the direction Leon had gone. "I'll go on ahead!"

Gloria watched her friend run off and sighed.

"Scor?" Tuff tapped her leg.

"Come on, Tuff. Let's go."

⚔️ 🛡

"If you want to participate in the Gym Challenge, then you need to get an endorsement."

Gloria nodded slowly as she looked at the Galarian Professor, Sonia's grandmother.

"But do you really think that Rose—" Leon paused as Professor Magnolia looked at him. "—_Chairman_ Rose would give them an endorsement?"

Professor Magnolia raised an eyebrow at him. "That's where you come in, Leon."

"Wait, me?" Leon looked at the Professor, then at his brother and Gloria. "But, Professor, they're just kids! I can't—"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Champion Leon, but I thought that your motto was to 'give everyone a Champion time', right?" Leon opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted again. "And you say that you want everyone to have the chance to do their best in everything." Again, the Champion tried to speak, and again Magnolia cut him off. "And if I remember correctly, you were much younger than they are now when you first started your Gym Challenge."

Leon looked down, then sighed. "I'll consider it," he grumbled before walking out of the room.

"I apologize for the Champion's behavior," Professor Magnolia said, looking at the two teens. She glanced at a clock on the wall. "My, it's getting late. Why don't you two rest up for the night?" She adjusted her glasses. "My granddaughter's room is right down the hallway here if one of you would like to stay in it for the night."

"Gloria can sleep there!" Hop said quickly, looking at said girl.

"What? Me?" She blinked, confused.

"Yes, that would probably be best," Professor Magnolia stated. "Hop, you and your brother can sleep in the living room for the night. And Gloria, follow me." The brunette was left with no choice but to let the Professor lead her down a small hallway. Bookcases lined the walls, much like the Pokémon laboratory.

"Here's where you'll be sleeping tonight." Professor Magnolia clicked on a light switch, and the room flooded with bright lights from overhead.

"What about your granddaughter, Sonia?" Gloria looked at her.

"She most likely won't be back until tomorrow at least; lately she's been sleeping at the lab." A chuckle escaped her lips, probably noticing Gloria's confused expression. "Don't worry, I won't tell her that you're using her room."

"Right. . ." Gloria walked into the middle of the room and slowly turned in a circle, looking at the place. The walls were an indigo color, and looked to be made up of a wood of some sort. Books lined every corner of the room, leaving no spot bare. White dressers with makeup items made up several of the far walls.

A lilac-and-violet bed stood in the far corner, with teal and Liepard-print pillows. Above the bed, on the wall, there was a map of the Wild Area, a vast expanse of land found only in the Galar Region.

"I'll leave you here to get settled," Magnolia said, leaving Gloria alone.

The teen girl set her bag gently onto the gray wood floor and went to a bookcase. Sonia has tons of books, some of which included _The History of Dynamax, Legends of_ Galar, and_ The Sword & The Shield_ (that one piqued Gloria's interest). On a separate bookshelf lay different books such as _Fly, Wingull, Fly_ and _The Isles of Gracidea._ Both seemed to be research books from various regions.

"Well, Tuff, I don't really know what to do now." She pulled out her phone and walked to the bed, turning on the device. She was met with an eternal black screen of death. _Great. It's dead._

Gloria sighed and hauled herself back to her feet, walking to her bag to pull out her phone charger. She managed to find it after several seconds of looking, and plugged it into her Rotom Phone. It began restoring its battery.

Gloria's stomach growled, and she bit her lip. She hadn't had anything to eat since that morning.

"Scor!" Tuff rushed you her side, nudging her legs worriedly.

"Don't worry about me," Gloria told her. "I don't want to bother the Professor any more than I already am." She plopped down onto the bed, bouncing up and down as it adjusted to her weight. A yawn escaped her lips and she rested her head on the pillow as she gazed up at the ceiling.

"Hey, Tuff?" The Scorbunny jumped into the bed and looked at her, tilting her head. "Can you go get Penny and Valiant?" Instantly the rabbit's face hardened into a frown that Gloria failed to see.

"Scor," she growled and left the bed, returning with the two Poké Balls.

"Thank you." Gloria rubbed Tuff's head, and it took every ounce of strength for the bunny to not bat her hand away. Gloria opened her two Poké Balls to let her new 'Mons out.

"Zig!" Penny immediately dove under the covers of the bed, wiggling around in excitement. Gloria laughed and lifted her up into her arms, looking into her eyes.

"You're so cute," Gloria mused, earning herself a few licks on her nose. Gloria laughed, trying to keep her mouth closed, and turned her head away from Penny. She noticed Valiant sitting nearby, gazing at the two of them. Gloria smiled and stretched out a hand to him.

"Dee?" Valiant leaned down before hesitantly stepping into her hand. Gloria brought him up to her neck and let him stay there.

"Okay, guys," she addressed her Team. "We're all going to stay here for the night, so please don't mess up the room."

A series of sounds followed her words, hopefully saying that they understood.

Gloria nodded and stood up from the bed. "I'm going to go change, but then I'll be right back." She rubbed Penny's chin, then walked towards the entrance of the room. She grabbed her bag on the way.

"Bun," Tuff called out, running in front of her. Her nose twitched.

"I'll be right back," Gloria said to her and continued her journey down the hallway to the bathroom to change.

⚔️ 🛡

"If it's a battle you want to see, then it's a battle you'll get!" Gloria beamed at her own statement, watching Leon. "Right Hop? Are you ready?" She looked at her best friend, only to see him standing with his eyes closed, tired. "Hey, you okay?"

Hop snapped back to attention and blinked at Gloria. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. . . Just tired." He cast an annoyed glance at his brother. "Maybe if _someone_ didn't _snore_ so loud as they slept, I would feel better."

"Hey, don't blame me." Leon threw his hands into the air in defense. "And besides, a good Trainer is always ready for a battle, no matter what state they might be in."

Hop sighed. "Fine. . ." He stretched his arms above his head. He shook his head, as if to clear it, before turning to Gloria. "I'm ready now. . ."

The brunette nodded. "Okay, then. . ." She looked at Tuff and the two Poké Balls beside her. "Penny!" She picked you the Zigzagoon's Ball and tossed it, letting the friendly Dark-Type out. Tuff huffed and crossed her arms, pouting on the ground.

"Wooloo, show them who we are!" Hop shouted, throwing his Pokémon's Poké Ball. The sheep landed on the paved ground and looked at his two opponents.

"Zag!" Penny bounced and walked towards the Wooloo, her nose twitching in curiosity.

"Tackle!" Hop didn't hesitate at all as he yelled a command to the Wooloo.

""Get away from it!" Gloria shouted at Penny. The Zigzagoon didn't quite understand, or maybe she decided to ignore Gloria. She didn't move away from the Tackle attack, and was thrown back.

Penny whimpered as she hit the ground with a loud _thud_. She lifted her gaze, looking at the Wooloo with an expression full of betrayal and fear. "Goon?" came her quiet whisper.

"Gloria?" Leon's voice met her ears.

Said girl opened her mouth, ready to command Penny to attack, but Hop was quicker. In one quick roll, his Wooloo had rammed again into Penny. The dust cleared, revealing a fainted Zigzagoon next to an untouched Wooloo.

"Return," Gloria breathed, holding the Ball out to return her. Her gaze was dark, as if realizing how much work it would take to get Penny on par with Valiant and Tuff, who were both always eager to fight.

Speaking of Tuff, the Scorbunny was bouncing up and down angrily, shouting at Gloria. Gloria payed her no attention and instead grabbed Valiant's Ball.

"Valiant, let's go!" The Rookidee emerges from his Poké Ball and flew in a large circle around the area before stopping right in front of his Trainer. "Peck!"

Valiant charged at his opponent, his beak shining in the morning sun. The Wooloo stumbled backward as its face was scratched from the sharp beak.

"Wooloo!" Hop narrowed his eyes at Valiant; he would be tough to defeat, he knew that for sure. "Return!" The Wooloo was brought back to its Poké Ball, only to be replaced by Hop's one Rookidee.

Valiant tensed, facing against what appeared to be a mirror image of him. "Dee?"

"Kro, use Peck!" Hop shouted.

"You too, Val!" Gloria told her Rookidee, coming up with a shortened nickname on the spot.

Both avians collided in midair and continued to draw back before attacking again. Both were determined to land a decent hit on the other.

"Kro, use your Fury Attack!"

Gloria's eyes widened. "What?!" She watched as Valiant was scratched repeatedly on his face and wings. She growled. "Peck!"

Valiant opened his eyes to look at his opponent before charging at it, his beak shining. There was a scuffle of feathers in the air that lasted a few seconds. And then, both birds fell from the sky, landing on the ground.

"Return," Gloria said, holding out Valiant's Poké Ball. She took a breath and finally looked at Tuff. "Ready?"

"Scor!" Tuff said eagerly, jumping in front of her. She bounced on her feet, giddy with excitement.

"Wooloo!" Hop released his first Pokémon. The sheep narrowed its eyes, seeing Tuff. "Tackle!"

"Ember!"

As the Wooloo rolled toward Tuff, she leapt high up, avoiding the Tackle. She rubbed her paws together, the friction creating a small flame. Then, as she came crashing back down, she shoved her fire-coated paws down, hitting the Wooloo and setting its wool ablaze.

"Come back!" Hop immediately returned his Wooloo before any more damage could come to it. He sighed and looked at Gloria and Tuff. "You're both a lot stronger than you were earlier," he complimented. "This is going to be a close battle." He threw out Nori's Poké Ball.

Gloria nodded, glancing at the grass monkey. "Ember!"

"Branch Poke!" Hop commanded, throwing his hand in front of himself. Nori ran towards Tuff as she was charging her attack.

"Tuff!" Gloria called as Nori jabbed his new stick into her side. She tumbled down, sparing a glance at Leon with a look of disbelief. Leon said nothing. She growled and rose back up to her feet. "That's more like it!" Gloria cheered. "Now, run around the field!" Tuff frowned in confusion, but obeyed. At least when nothing happened, it would be Gloria's fault, not hers.

She ran around and around in circles, evading Nori's Tackle and Branch Poke attacks. As she was running, she felt a sudden surge of speed and charged at Nori without hesitation. The Grookey has no way to avoid her Quick Attack, and collapsed on the ground.

"Finish them with Ember!" Tuff rubbed her paws only once, the fire covering both of them. She swiped Nori with her burning flames, knocking him out.

Tuff stepped back as Hop brought Nori back into his Ball. She wiped her cheek with her paw and looked at Gloria for approval. Her face lit up when she saw her Trainer's huge smile.

"Great job Tuff!" Gloria tan to her, her arms wide. The two embraced in a joy-filled hug.

"You both battled exceptionally," Leon told both of them, stepping forward from his spot in the sideline. "You've improved so much since your first battle a few days ago—"

"Thanks, Lee." Hop rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed by his brother's encouraging words.

"—so that's why," he looked at Hop, "I want to give you both an endorsement for the Gym Challenge."

All went silent as Hop and Gloria gasped at the Champion in shock. They could. . . get Gym Badges now?

"Wait, even me?!" Hop's voice was unusually high, probably from his excitement and disbelief.

"You're part of 'both of you', right?" Hop nodded slowly. "Then yes, even you are going to get an endorsement from me."

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Gloria laughed as Hop tackled his brother in a huge hug. "You're the best!"

"I know I am," Leon replied, rubbing Hop's back.

"Gloria!" Hop broke away from Leon and ran to her, taking her hands in his. "We can do the Gym Challenge now! Aren't you excited?"

Gloria nodded, grinning. "Yeah, I am!" She looked at Leon. "Thank you!"

"No problem," Leon replied. He pulled out some papers and a pen and began writing on them. He handed them to the two teens after a few moments. "There you go; two endorsements, all yours."

Gloria scanned the paper, tears rising to her eyes. Finally, after so long, her dream was happening. . . It was becoming a reality right before her.

"I promise," she heard herself saying. "I promise to keep getting stronger, so that I can take you on for the Champion spot."

"Me too!" Hop bounced from foot to foot. "So you'd better be ready, Lee!"

Leon chuckled. "I'll be waiting for you both, then."

"Yeah!" Hop looked at his best friend. "Let's battle each. . ." He trailed off as his eyes widened. "What's that?!"

Gloria whirled around, seeing something fall from the sky. It glittered brightly, as if it was something from space. It landed gently on the ground a few yards away.

"Come on!" Hop ran to it, Gloria close behind. As she grew closer to the object, she saw that it was actually two items. "Woah!" Hop picked them both up and held them close to his face to view them better. "They're Wishing Stars! I've seen them in a book before!"

Gloria peered over his shoulder at the two "Wishing Stars" in his hands. "Why are there two? And what do they do?"

Hop grinned. "I think there's two because you get one too!" He handed her one of the Stars. It was indigo, hard, and brittle, like an old rock. Red lines swirled around on the outside of it. But, unlike an old rock, this stone felt warm to the touch. "I heard that if you ever find one, all your dreams would come true."

"Do they do anything else?" Gloria questioned, prying her eyes away from the rock and up at Hop.

"Yeah! With these, Pokémon are able to Dynamax!" Hop stared at his Wishing Star. "This day just keeps on getting better and better!"

Gloria smiled at her best friend's enthusiasm and turned as Leon joined them. "They say that Wishing Stars only appear to those who have a true wish in their hearts, you know," he said as he reached them.

"Soooo. . . Then does that mean that my wishes and dreams will all become reality?" Hop glanced at Gloria, a small smile on his face.

"Don't be ridiculous." They all turned to see Professor Magnolia walking to them. "Wishing Stars are just simple rocks, only with a strange power. But they have nothing to do with making wishes come true." She thought for a second. "Unless, of course, your wish is to be able to Dynamax your Pokémon."

"Ooh, I'd like that!" Gloria smiled.

"Well then give your Wishing Stars to me. They won't do you any good in that state," Magnolia spoke matter-of-factly. "I can create Dynamax Bands with those Wishing Stars of yours."

"Ah, right." Hop looked at Gloria. "I keep forgetting that Professor Magnolia studies Dynamax." He gave the Professor his Wishing Star. Gloria hesitated before doing the same.

"Thank you," Professor Magnolia said and turned to go back into her home.

"Seems like I came back home in time." Sonia walked up to them.

"Actually, you missed it all, So," Leon said, looking at her. Sonia ignored him, much to his annoyance.

Sonia smirked, her back to Leon. "Anyway, do you know where Gran is?" She kept her gaze on Hop and Gloria.

"She's—"

"She's in her home!" Hop interrupted Gloria. The brunette frowned. "She's making some Dynamax Bands for Gloria and me."

Sonia blinked a few times. "Oh, then I'll go help her out. Thank you, Hop and Gloria." She began to leave back where Professor Magnolia had gone.

"I'll help too!" Leon followed her inside.

There were a few moments of quiet before Hop spoke up. "So, I guess it's just you and me out here. . ." He bit his lip, preparing to continue.

"And Tuff too," Gloria corrected, motioning to her Scorbunny, sitting on her shoulder.

"Right. And Tuff too. . ." Hop sighed.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Gloria stepped closer to him. "Are you still tired?" she guessed.

"Um, yeah!" Hop sat down on the ground, leaning against the brick wall by the spot where they had battled. "I'm just a little tired, that's all." He let out a huge yawn.

Gloria couldn't help it; when she saw his yawn, she did the same thing. "I guess I'm tired too." She sat beside him and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. "How long do you think it will take for the Professor to finish our Dynamax Bands?"

"I-I don't know," Hop admitted quietly.

"Okay." Gloria put her head on his shoulder. "Then I'm going to sleep while I'm waiting for them." Tuff jumped down into Gloria's lap and narrowed her eyes at Hop.

Hop ignored the rabbit's silent threat and watched as Gloria's breaths became slower as she fell into a deep sleep. The boy hesitated before holding her hand and resting his head on hers.

⚔️ 🛡

"Get up you two!"

Hop and Gloria snapped to attention, waking from their stupor to find the Champion standing over them. He was sighing quietly. "Honestly, the both of you. . ."

"Did the Professor finish our Dynamax Bands?" Gloria asked, jumping to her feet. She never once questioned why Hop had his head on hers, or why he was holding her hand as she woke up. After all, they were best friends, weren't they?

"Yes, she did," Leon answered her. "She's waiting in her home for you and Hop."

"Great!" Gloria beamed and looked down at Hop. "Come on! Let's get our Dynamax Bands!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him with all her might, but he didn't budge.

"I'm tired. . ." he complained.

"Fine then!" Gloria dropped his hand. "I'll get my Band first then!" She turned around and walked to the Professor's home.

"Wait!" Hop scrambled to his feet and took off after her.

Leon shook his head, watching his brother chase after his best friend. "You two. . ." He murmured and then sighed. "Hop, you'd better tell her how you really feel, before it's too late. . ." He followed them back inside.

"And here you both go," Professor Magnolia was saying to Gloria and Hop as Leon entered. She walked to them and handed them each a bracelet-shaped object. "These are your Dynamax Bands."

The Dynamax Band was white, with red and blue around each end of it. In the middle was a red X-shaped logo. Gloria smiled and slipped it onto her right wrist, admiring how it fit perfectly.

"I made them by placing the Wishing Stars you both found into the center of them." Professor Magnolia turned around and glanced at the Champion.

"Yes!" Hop jumped up. "Now I can Dynamax my Pokémon, just like Lee! It's only a matter of time before I'm the strongest in Galar!"

"Oh yeah?" Gloria crossed her arms. "Well I just know that I'm going to beat you— and everyone else that comes my way with my Dynamax Pokémon!"

"That's not quite how it works." Leon sighed, shaking his head. "In order for you to Dynamax your Pokémon, you need to be in a special area, such as a Gym Stadium or Wild Area Raids. And even then, they only stay in that form for three turns, because of all the stress it puts on the Pokémon."

"Yeah, Wild Area!" Hop beamed and looked at Gloria. "Lets go back to Motostoke Station so we can go to the Wild Area!" he exclaimed, ignoring everything else Leon had said.

"Yes! I'll race you there!" Gloria nudged his arm.

"You're on!" Hop accepted her challenge and together the two of them ran out of the house, leaving the Professor, Sonia, and Leon staring after them in bewilderment.

"Those two didn't hear a single thing I said, did they?" Leon grumbled, pulling out his phone to send a quick text to his mum.

"Reminds me of someone. . ." Sonia smirked quietly and patted his shoulder as she left to her room.

⚔️ 🛡

"So there you are!"

Hop and Gloria looked up, tired from running, only to see their mums waiting in front of Wedgehurst Station.

"Leon let me know that you two were on your way to the Wild Area," Hop's mum informed them. "So of course I had to let Emily know as well!" She looked at Gloria's mum. The brunette teen glanced away; it always felt strange hearing people call her mum by her first name.

Emily nodded, looking at her daughter. "Gloria. . ." She hesitated before reaching behind herself and picking up large items in her hands. Gloria quickly took off her bag, letting Tuff jump onto her shoulder, and set it down for her mum to put the items.

"This is your camping gear," she said as she stuffed it into the bag. "You'll need it for your journey out there."

Gloria waited until her mum was standing upright before she wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. "Thanks, Mum."

"You're welcome, Gloria." Her mum kissed her head. "And Tuff," she looked at the Scorbunny. "Take care of her for me, alright?" Tuff nodded, proud to have been entrusted with such a task.

"Me too!" Hop slung his arm over Gloria's shoulders, startling Tuff. "I'll protect her too, Ms. Shield, so there's no need to worry!"

Gloria's mum laughed softly and patted Hop's head. "I'm sure you will, Hop." She let her gaze travel over the two teens and Tuff. "If life ever gets too tough for you two, remember that you're always welcome back home."

"Now boarding, ride 3 to Motostoke!"

Hop moved his arm away from Gloria. "That's us!" He looked at her.

Gloria nodded. "We're off, then. Bye!" She waved as she started to walk away. Hop gave her boarding ticket after a few moments.

"My mum bought them in advance for us," he told her as she took it from him.

The two scanned their tickets and were permitted to board the train. Gloria picked a seat next to a window, and Hop sat right beside her.

Ages seemed to pass, and then the train started moving. Gloria and Hop waved their final farewells as the train picked up speed. In a matter of minutes, they had left Wedgehurst entirely.

Gloria propped her elbow on the windowsill, looking outside with her head in her hand. Trees became dark blurs that zoomed past. Occasionally she could catch a quick glance at a Pokémon, but even those were just splashes of color.

Night was falling, showing off its bright silvery stars scattered throughout the sky. The sight was beautiful.

Beside her, Hop yawned, only to then follow that by resting his head on Gloria's shoulder. She quickly turned her head and looked at him. A smile came to her as she saw that he was already asleep. _Last night with Leon must've really exhausted him._ She let a few more moments pass before putting her head on his.

They slept like that for the whole train ride.

**Hop and Gloria...**

**How's this for a chapter, all you Postwick shippers? (Which is like nearly everyone reading this. And I don't blame you; they _are_ a pretty cute couple.)**

**Anyway, moving away from that... I'm getting so close to revealing the other rivals in the SwSh games! I cannot wait!**

**My question now is a bit random, since I can't think of a good one right now. Who's your favorite Pokémon Champion?**

**Mine would probably be Leon, Lance, or Cynthia. Or maybe all three.**

**(Also, those stories I mentioned earlier, _The Isles of Gracidea _and _Fly, Wingull, Fly_ are both amazing stories from Wattpad. I highly suggest you guys go check them out, because they are absolutely amazing.)**


	5. Wild Area

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this chapter and the next one prewritten. 
> 
> Anyway this is kinda-sorta shifting away from Hop x Gloria so... sorry (?)

"Sob! Sobble!"

"Huh? What is it, Brook?" A brown-haired boy turned his head and glanced down at his partners. They all seemed a bit nervous about something. _But what?_

Slowly, he turned around, half expecting a Bewear or Machamp to be looming over him. Instead, he found nothing except for some dark clouds up in the sky. _It's nothing at all. Why were you all so—_

A raindrop fell on his head. Then another.

Here he was, alone in the middle of the night, while it was beginning to rain. He glanced down at his Rotom phone, wishing for half a second that he hadn't taken Professor Magnolia's crazy task of completing the Pokédex. He sighed.

"Alright, let's set up camp right here!" he announced to his Pokémon and threw his large bag down onto the grassy ground. He quickly rummaged through it, wanting to find his tent before the rain got any worse.

With a quiet "aha!" he managed to find the hidden object and pulled it out.

"Dottler, give me some light! Growlithe, Yamper, you help me set up the tent!" Two young canines ran to their Trainer to help him in setting up his rather large tent. Meanwhile, a bright orange insect, large and strangely shaped, lit up indigo spots along its back. They gave off a blue light that helped its Trainer see what needed to be done.

The rain was really starting to pick up now, and Brook, along with a Vulpix, was starting to get anxious.

"Sob," Brook complained, pacing near his Trainer.

His Trainer ignored his cry and directed his question to his orange bug. "Dottler, is this storm going to be bad?"

A few moments passed, and then he heard- no, _felt_\- a faint _"Yes. I'm sensing lightning in this one. Strong winds, too. It's not going to be a good night in the lightest."_

"Alright, thanks." The boy lifted up his tent, nearly finished. His red sweatshirt was soaked to his skin, making this whole ordeal even worse.

_"It's going to be going on all night at least."_

The Trainer nodded, still focusing on building his tent. "This is going to mean trouble for the train. . ." he muttered to no one in particular. Twice a day, the train would come by here from Wedgehurst, and right now seemed to be when it would arrive.

Finally he stepped back, satisfied with how anchored his tent was to the ground; the increasing winds had threatened to lift it up into the air more than once as he was making it. Quickly he unzipped the mesh covering and threw his big bag in. His Pokémon rushed in after.

The boy glanced back at his Dottler and ran to it. "Thank you, Dottler. Return." The Bug- Psychic-Type disappeared as he was pulled into his Poké Ball.

The boy breathed a sigh of relief and turned to go into his tent to escape the torrent of rain. Instead, his ears picked up a strange noise.

"Jolt!" _Right! Different Pokémon appear as the weather changes!_

His promise to the Professor echoed in his mind, and he hurried to his tent, where his Pokémon were. "I'll be back soon!" he shouted, barely able to hear himself over the rain. Then he started running in another direction.

Lighting flashed overhead as the boy had his flashlight and phone out, searching for any sign of a new Pokémon. His phone screen flashed with information.

"Oh, a Grubbin!" The boy threw an Ultra Ball where he had seen the green Pokémon. He picked up the Ball and stuffed it into his pants pocket, searching for another rare Pokémon.

"Gull!" His attention was directed to a light-colored bird flying close to the ground. With a single throw, the avian was caught.

"Jolt!" The boy froze, recognizing the cry from earlier; the cry that he first heard. He started to look for the source, only to freeze as a bolt of lightning crashed down a few yards away. He threw himself onto the ground, but quicklybecame confused as he realized that he wasn't dead.

"Electrike!" a new Pokémon barked. It ran into the flashlight's light, revealing itself to be a green canine with yellow stripes around its face and tail. Almost immediately, a much smaller creature leapt onto its back. From what little the boy could see, it was yellow and covered in what looked to be thick fur. The screen on his Pokédex app claimed it to be a Joltik.

The boy got onto his knees and tossed a couple of Ultra Balls, capturing the Electrike and Joltik.

Immediately upon catching both Pokémon, he let out the Electrike, seeing as it had a Lightning Rod ability.

"Follow me!" he commanded. "I need to get back to my camp!" The Electrike nodded and ran beside him as he raced back to where his tent was. For a second, he considered getting his bike and going into the lake, but that idea quickly left as he saw lightning strike the surface. Not even a Lightning Rod could protect him from that kind of damage.

With his tent now in sight, he dashed towards it. Luckily his Electrike hadn't been struck on the way, so that was a good sign. Along the way, he picked up a sparkly violet stone without hesitation.

The boy opened the covering and scrambled in. The Electrike followed. He zipped the entrance back up to avoid anymore rain.

He lay on his back, breathing heavily. All around him, his Pokémon pressed up against him, whimpering and shivering. Brook rested beside his head, watching his Trainer through worried blue eyes.

"I'm okay guys," the boy told his Pokémon, petting them as best as he could in the dark space. "Really, I am."

He sat upright and placed Brook onto his shoulder, turning on his phone. His Vulpix sat in his lap, hoping to warm him up with her warm pelt. The boy absentmindedly pet her fluffy head and called the Professor.

"Victor?" A tired voice came from the other end of the call. The Professor's face came onto the screen. "What are you calling so late for?"

Victor cleared his throat. "I apologize, Professor. I just wanted to update you on my progress for the day. I just caught four more Pokémon— and Brook's getting stronger too!" The Sobble smiled proudly at Magnolia from on Victor's shoulder.

"That's nice to hear, but. . ." She trailed off, squinting at his shadowed frame. "My goodness, Victor! You're soaking wet!"

"Yeah." Victor chuckled dryly. "There's a bit of a storm here in the Wild Area."

Professor Magnolia gasped quietly. "You're telling me that you went out in the middle of the storm? Victor, you need to be more careful!"

"I'm fine now, aren't I?" Victor sighed. "Besides, one of the Pokémon I caught had a Lightning Rod ability, so I'm safe."

"Even still. . ." Professor Magnolia's next words became indecipherable as thunder boomed nearby. She blinked. "Alright, I'm going to go now. Please remember to be careful!"

"Yep, got it," Victor told her and ended the call.

A moment passed, and then he reached into his pocket, pulling out the sparkly violet rock he had found while out in the storm. A smile crept onto his face as he realized just what he had had. As long as he had this, the whole struggle of running outside in the rain was well worth it.

Victor turned on his phone again and called someone else, placing the phone to his ear this time. _I'll show that ugly jerk who _he_ favors more._

"Sword here." He turned the stone over in his hand, gazing upon it from every angle. A few moments passed of silence from him.

He ran his thumb over the rough surface of the stone, a smirk forming on his face. "I've found a Wishing Star."

⚔️ 🛡

The train screeched to a sudden halt. Gloria and Hop were startled awake as their heads were slammed into the table in front of them. The brunette groaned as her headache returned.

"What in the world is going on?" Hop quickly jumped up from his spot beside Gloria and glanced around the train.

"I guess we're in Motostoke already," Gloria told her friend, yawning. She rubbed her eyes before standing up with Hop. Tuff jumped up onto her head.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the inconvenience. Due to the weather, we have been forced to stop and wait until it is safe to progress," the train driver informed the passengers.

Gloria sighed. "This is stupid. . ." she muttered. "There's not even any wea—" A crack of lightning and thunder interrupted her words, making her flinch and move towards Hop.

"Gloria?" Hop wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She quickly moved away. "I was just startled, that's all."

Hop nodded slowly, as if he didn't believe her. Then, ever so slowly, the train began moving backwards.

"For the safety of all passengers, we are moving back to the Wild Area Station. Please remain calm and stay seated."

Hop sighed and sat back down at his seat. Gloria took her spot across from him instead of beside him.

Gloria yawned and took out her Rotom phone. The time read 23:12. She groaned and unlocked it, checking the weather forecast.

According to the Orbeetle Weather report, there was a large band of rain and lightning heading their way. The storm was said to last at least all night.

And as if on cue, rain began falling from the sky, pounding on the windows and roof of the train. Gloria closed her eyes and rested her head on the table, allowing herself to drift off to the relaxing sound of the rain. It's not like she could do much else. . .

⚔️ 🛡

The rest of the night came to Gloria in bits and pieces.

She vaguely remembered exiting the train, back at the Wild Area Station. The storm was only getting worse, and the workers at the station wouldn't permit Hop and her to leave indoors. And so they, along with the rest of the train passengers, were forced to sleep in the station for the remainder of the night.

At around 10, Gloria and Hop woke up and were allowed to leave the station, as the rain had stopped. A few yards away, there was a fence, signaling the beginning of the Wild Area.

"Hop! Gloria!" Both turned around, seeing Sonia running towards them. Her face was red, as if she had been running a marathon.

"Huh? Sonia?" Hop sounded confused.

"Did you run here all the way from Wedgehurst?" Gloria tilted her head. On her shoulder, Tuff grunted, becoming more and more impatient to continue their journey.

Sonia blinked. "Oh, no! I couldn't. . ." She paused. "Anyway, Gran wanted to add her number to your phones, so that way you can all keep in touch." Gloria nodded slowly. "Also, she said that there's someone here in the Wild Area. I believe she said his name was Victor."

"Victor?" Gloria echoed.

"Mhm." Sonia nodded. "Also, Gran was yelling at me and all, and I just wanted to leave as soon as possible. . ." She sighed. "Stuff like how I never do anything. . ."

"Well, maybe—" Gloria started saying.

"You can come with us!" Hop chimed in. "We're heading out to Motostoke now!"

Sonia smiled. "Thank you, but I'd have to pass. My sis is going to be arriving in the Wyndon Airport, and I want to be there to pick her up."

"Okay," Gloria told her. She handed her her phone so she could put the Professor's phone number in. Hop did the same.

"Thank you." Sonia handed them back their phones after putting Magnolia's number in them. She stepped back before taking out a pink-and-cream Friendship Ball and opening it.

A beautiful bird emerged from the Ball, light brown in color. Fluffy black feathers coated its chest, and more durable feathers lined up around its head and wings. Its red eyes stared down at Gloria and Hop, giving it a strong, powerful aura.

"Let's go see Rosie," Sonia told her Pokémon.

It responded with a loud "Knight!" and knelt down for Sonia to climb onto it.

"Bye, you two," Sonia told them as she hopped onto her Corviknight.

With another mighty "Knight!", the Corviknight spread its wings and lifted itself into the sky, heading north.

"Wow," Hop muttered. "I've never seen a Corviknight _that_ color."

"Eh." Gloria shrugged, indifferent about the light-colored avian. She nudged her friend. "How about we go to Wedgehurst now?"

"Right!" He smiled. "Come on!" He started running forward, leaving Gloria with no choice but to follow. Not that she minded the early morning jog.

The two jogged through the Wild Area, stopping more than once to look at the different types of wild Pokémon in the area. The ground was muddy and soft, making Gloria covered in dirt from her waist down as she and Hop ran. Looking over at Hop, she saw that he too was caked in mud. The sight made her laugh.

Hop paused, suddenly becoming self-conscious. "What's so funny? Is it my hair? It's my hair, isn't it? It's a mess. . ." He quickly ran his fingers through his violet strands, desperate to fix the problem that be believed was the source of Gloria's amusement.

"No, it's not that." Gloria covered her mouth and turned away, still snickering quietly. "It's that you're covered in mud."

Hop glanced down and took one look at his dirtied legs before smiling himself. "You are, too," he told her.

"Yes, but you normally hate getting messy, so it's just funny seeing you like that."

Gloria decided to let out Penny, to hopefully get her a bit of fighting experience and make her not so. . . playful. Hop did the same with Nori.

As Tuff hopped down to talk with Nori, Gloria and Hop slowed down to a slow walk.

"You know, I've been thinking. . ." Hop began, glancing at Gloria.

Gloria looked away from Penny, who was chasing a wild Bounsweet (and failing horribly). "What is it?" She asked her friend.

"I— Uh— Um. . ." He glanced away before quickly asking, "With us being rivals and all, we're going to have to leave each other eventually and continue our journeys by ourselves."

Gloria's steps slowed and she let her gaze fall downward, realization hitting her as she took in what Hop had just said. She bit her lip before lifting her head back up and looking at Hop. "We'll still see each other though, right? When we're traveling through cities and towns throughout Galar?"

Hop nodded. "And in the finals match too!" He smiled, though it seemed a bit forced. "Because I'm not going to lose, so neither should you!"

"You got it!" And then Gloria hugged Hop, wanting nothing more than to hide her saddened expression from him. She was not looking forward to the moment when they would depart from each other.

_⚔️ 🛡_

Before they knew it, the sky was becoming dark again as the sun sank below the horizon. Up ahead, they could see the lights of Motostoke. The two quickened their pace, now beginning to run.

Gloria's legs and feet ached, and she was becoming annoyed from the mud cloaking her skin, but she sped up, the knowledge of being so close to Motostoke giving her strength. The sooner she got there, the sooner she could rest for the night.

"Wait!" Before Gloria could react, something small rammed into her side, knocking her off her feet. She fell to the ground, noticing a Zigzagoon with its jaw open as it prepared to bite her arm.

"Zigzagoon, return!" The Tiny Raccoon Pokémon lit up with a red glow before it was pulled into someone's Ultra Ball. Gloria slowly raised her head, only to find herself facing a teen boy a few years older than she.

"I'm sorry about my Zigzagoon." The boy stretched his hand down to Gloria. "I only just caught him a few days ago, and I have yet to fully tame him."

"It's fine." Gloria took his hand and let him lift her up to her feet. She didn't catch Hop's angry scowl at the strange boy. "I have a Zigzagoon of my own, and as sweet as she is, she's a handful too." She laughed softly.

The boy frowned slightly. "Sweet? A Zigzagoon?" He eyed Gloria up and down. "You're from here in Galar, right?"

Gloria nodded. "Yes," she told him simply, a bit disturbed by his sudden question. She opened Penny's Poké Ball and held her against her chest. "See? She's friendly." Penny was grinning, her tongue out, as she gazed at the stranger.

"That's odd. . ." The boy stretched his arm out, and Gloria could see scratches all along his wrist and hand. He rubbed Penny's head, smiling as she licked his hand like the sweetie she was. "I apologize for seeming rude earlier. It's just that Zigzagoon from other regions are a lot more kind than the ones here in Galar." He lifted his brown eyes to look at Gloria, who nodded. "I'm Victor, by the way. Victor Sword."

"Victor? Sonia mentioned something about you!" Gloria grinned and returned Penny. "My name's Gloria, and this is—"

"The name's Hop," Hop told him tartly, moving to stand in front of Gloria protectively.

Victor stepped back and looked between the two of them. "Oh, my apologies, Hop. I wasn't trying to take your girlfriend from you." Hop's face flushed red.

"No, no," Gloria said, looking at Victor. "We're best friends— not dating."

"I see. . ." Victor narrowed his eyes the slightest bit, in deep thought. His gaze traveled downwards, and his eyes widened slightly. "You both have Dynamax Bands?"

"Yeah!" Gloria moved around Hop and looked down at her wrist. "Professor Magnolia gave them to us yesterday, since we both found some Wishing Stars."

Victor smiled a tiny bit. "You know, Professor Magnolia asked me to help her with completing the Pokédex."

"Really? Cool!" Gloria beamed, then looked at his wrists. "Wait, do you not have a Dynamax Band?"

Victor shook his head. "Nah, but I'm going to get one soon." He added a little shrug at the end of his statement.

"Alright, how about we just go to Motostoke?" Hop asked, getting impatient. He watched Victor warily as he wrapped his fingers around Gloria's.

"You're going to Motostoke?" Victor asked. He glanced around himself. "Mind if I tag along? I need to sign in for the Gym Challenge there."

"I don't think—" Hop began, but Gloria cut him off.

"Sure!" She moved her hand away from Hop and began walking towards the gate of Motostoke. Victor ran to catch up to her, and the two chatted like they had been friends for their entire lives. Behind them, Hop trudged, hands in his pockets.

He didn't like this Victor guy. Not one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo... Victor... He's an interesting guy, to say the least. 
> 
> Vic is the first of three new rivals for Gloria. (Bede and Marnie are coming in the next chapter!! I can't wait!)
> 
> Anyway, what do you think of him thus far (just from first-time impressions)?


	6. New Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BEEEEEEEDDDDDDEEE!!!!!!
> 
> MARRRRNNNIEEEEEEE!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is trash (like me!) 
> 
> I can’t write, sorry.
> 
> I made it super long though, as compensation

Gloria wobbled a bit as they were sent up to the top of a cliff. If it wasn't for Hop, she most definitely would've fallen. Victor, however, seemed unfazed by it all.

While they had been walking into the city, Victor and Gloria had had a brief conversation about themselves.

Apparently, Victor was seventeen— two years older than Gloria and Hop— and had no family. He was saved by Professor Magnolia when she gave him Brook and a Pokédex. Finally he had something to look forward to, he had told Gloria. "Completing the 'Dex is now my number one goal."

They were currently in Motostoke. The beautiful, industrialized city was much bigger than any Gloria had ever seen. A mixture of old and new shops dotted the sides of the streets, though nearly all of them were closed, due to how late it was.

In the heart of the city, there was a steep cliff, which also happened to be where their destination was located. There was an old machine built into the side of the cliff, and by twisting a few gears, it lifted up a metal platform up harshly to the top. For someone like Gloria who hadn't expected the sudden movement, the action was enough to make her a bit unsteady.

"You okay?" Victor's voice met her ears, bringing her back to the present. His face seemed full of concern for her wellbeing.

"Yes, I'm fine," Gloria said to him. She found her footing and walked past Hop to go to the brunette.

Victor smiled at the girl as she joined him. "Tired?" He asked as he noticed her slow steps and sleepy eyes.

"Huh?" She blinked and turned her head toward him. "Oh, yeah. A bit."

Victor chuckled. "Well, stay awake for a little longer, because we still need to check in for the Gym Challenge. Afterwards, you can go to the Budew Inn and rest up for as long as you want."

Gloria nodded and glanced at a tall hotel to the left. "You sure know a lot about everything."

Victor shrugged. "Let's just say that I have been looking forward to this for a long time." His words were smooth, relaxing, even, and Gloria found herself staring into nothingness as Victor entered a building.

"Gloria." Hop caught up to her and glanced down.

"What's wrong?" Gloria knew exactly when her best friend was feeling upset about something.

Hop opened his mouth like he wanted to say whatever it was that was bothering him, but stopped just before he could. "It's nothing. Come on."

Gloria felt a frown make its way onto her face. Why was Hop acting so strange? She followed him into the building.

The inside was huge. Brick made up the walls and a few pillars in the middle of the room. Big banners drifted down from the ceiling to only a few feet off of the floor. A red fire-patterned carpet covered the ground. At the far end of the room, there was a table with a man sitting beside it, looking exhausted. Behind him was a wall of gray glass.

"Gloria! Hop!" Victor waved to them as they entered. Gloria smiled and sped to meet him. "We just need to check in here. It really should only take a few minutes."

"Right," Gloria replied, glancing around at the empty place. "I guess everyone else is asleep, huh?"

Victor nodded at her before turning to the man behind the counter. "My name's Victor Sword. . ." He proceeded to tell him his birthday and hometown, Turffield, as well as other information. He winked and patted Gloria's back when he was finished. "Go on."

Gloria nodded and looked at the man, typing into a computer. "I'm Gloria. G-Gloria Shield. My birthday is on November 15," Victor perked up, "and I'm from Postwick."

"You and I have the same birthday," Victor told her as Hop signed himself up. He led her a bit farther away from the Champion's brother.

"Yeah. . ." Gloria yawned quietly, the day's activities coming back all at once.

Victor smiled warmly, glancing down at her hand for a second. "Why don't you and I head over to the Budew Inn next door and get us each our own room, now that we're signed up?"

"Thanks, but I'm going to wait for Hop. You can go on there, though." She gave him a small smile. "It's not like we're Leon, so we're not going to get lost."

Victor hesitated before nodding. "Alright, then. See you later."

Gloria waved. "Bye."

Hop joined her right as Victor exited the building. "Where'd that guy go?" He looked around.

"Victor? He just left." Gloria said to him, yawning again. "He wanted me to go with him, but I said I'd wait for you."

Hop's eyes widened slightly. "Gloria."

"Hmm?" She looked at him, tired.

"Stay away from Victor."

"Huh?" Gloria frowned. "Why? He's really nice. You two would get along—"

"Gloria." She flinched as he spoke her name. He grabbed her hands desperately and looked into her eyes. "Please. I can sense that there's something. . . not right with him. So, please, Gloria. I'm saying this because I care about you. You're my. . ." He hesitated. "You're my best friend, and I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Quit being so paranoid," she muttered. "You've only just met him, and you're acting like he's trying to kill me."

Hop stepped back and blinked at her, surprised that she was defending Victor. "Let's just head over to Budew Inn. I don't want to sit here any longer." He looked away from her.

"Right. . ." Gloria started going to the doors to leave. Hop walked right beside her, glancing at his friend every few seconds.

All of their happiness and fun from their time in the Wild Area, from their entire time being together, vanished as they exited the building. In silence, they walked to Budew Inn and went to their rooms for the night.

⚔️ 🛡

The following day, Gloria went with Hop back to the building they had gone to the previous night. Apparently, it also doubled as the Fire-Type Gym, Motostoke Stadium.

Gloria went inside, and immediately froze at the sight. People were everywhere in the huge entrance room. She stepped inside, glancing around herself slowly as she took in the new environment. Teens her age were all around the area, with a few younger kids added in various places.

"Excuse me," she asked somebody after a few moments, putting her hand on his pink-sleeved shoulder. He simply huffed, as if annoyed that she had asked for help.

"Go bother someone else. I have no time for annoying children like yourself." He didn't even so much as glance in her direction, and instead walked away.

"Rude. . ." Gloria growled softly, watching him leave.

She sighed and looked around for Hop, only to find him sitting down at one of the chairs along the wall. She noticed a girl standing near him, talking quietly to him. Gloria blinked and made her way to the two of them.

". . . An' tomorrow, they're gonna officially start the Gym Challenge, with all o' us finally bein' able ta meet the Leaders," the girl was speaking softly to Hop.

Gloria smiled softly at Hop, which he returned. The other girl froze as she noticed Gloria standing beside her, and quickly stuttered out, "H-hi, I'm M-Marnie." She had pale skin and black hair, pulled into two pigtails. A few strands of hair covered her right eye, which was a light blue-green color. She was wearing a light pink dress, with a black leather jacket over it. Black, spiked boots covered her feet.

Gloria looked at her with a kind smile. Marnie certainly seemed like a really nice person, unlike. . . Unlike that rude person dressed in pink. Her smile faded as her mind flashed back to him. Was is really that necessary to be so rude?

"Gloria, are you okay?" Hop asked her, sounding quite concerned. "It's Victor, isn't it? Where is he, I'll—"

"Hop, relax. Victor isn't even here right now, so there's no need to worry." She sighed before adding more quietly, "I still don't get why you have to be so mean when talking about him."

"Um," Marnie interjected softly. Hop and Gloria looked to her, the former biting his lip as he realized she was still there.

"Sorry, Marnie. I didn't mean to ignore you," he said, glancing at Gloria.

"Shield, Gloria Shield, please come to the front to pick up your uniform." An announcer called the teen girl.

Gloria looked at Marnie, then at Hop. She noticed Marnie staring at her, shock replacing the shy look on her face. "I'll be back," she told them both before walking to the front desk.

"Gloria?" A man asked her, looking over a clipboard. Or at least, she thought he was looking at the clipboard; he had sunglasses on, so it was hard to tell where his eyes were looking.

"That's me," she told him, shifting slightly in anticipation. "Uh, why exactly did you call me?"

"You, along with everyone else here, are getting your uniform for the Gym Challenge," he said in a monotone voice. "Please head to the back here to get your uniform."

"Okay. . ." Gloria cleared her throat and walked through the door he had motioned towards. She found herself in a small locker room-like place. Uniforms were folded up and down tables along the walls, all white and brand new. Gloria made her way over to the table, looking at the different sizes of the shirts and shorts.

"Looking for something?" A lady came over to Gloria.

"Uh, yeah," Gloria told her. "Are these the uniforms I'm supposed to be getting?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, they are. You just need to get one that fits you, and then bring it over to that corner to get your number printed." She pointed to a machine in the corner with a man nearby. "After that, go ahead and get changed over there for your photo." She then motioned to the opposite wall, which had about five changing rooms.

"Right, thanks," Gloria told her and lifted up a medium-sized shirt. She held it up to her chest and, after seeing that it would fit comfortably, she grabbed a matching pair of shorts and went to the corner with the machine.

"Number?" The man grumbled as she reached him.

"What?" Gloria was confused. When did she have a number?

"What number do ya want?"

"Um. . ." What should she say? What number could she— "Two twenty-seven," she found herself saying.

The man nodded and typed something into the machine before taking her shirt and placing it flat on the machine, back up. The top of it came down, pressing against the fabric. He lifted it back up after a few seconds and held she shirt up, revealing the numbers "227" on the back, in large print. He did the same thing with her gym shorts.

"Woah! Thanks!" Gloria said, taking her uniform back.

"Yeh," he muttered. "You're welcome."

Gloria then walked to the changing room area, her newly-numbered uniform in her arms.

A few moments later, she emerged from the room, her white uniform on. She was smiling as she went to get her picture taken.

That is, until she saw who was in front of her in line.

"Hey," she said, narrowing her eyes at the boy in front of her. "It was really rude what you said to me earlier."

The platinum-blonde male turned his head, his curly locks shifting slightly with the movement. Violet eyes locked with Gloria's brown ones, narrowing down as he looked at her. Ever so slowly, a smirk made its way onto his face. "Oh, it's you again. What part of go bother someone else' did you not understand?"

Gloria's eyes widened, shocked at what he said. "What?" _Calm down, Gloria. He's just trying to annoy you. Don't let him get to you._

"You heard me." His arms crossed over his chest. "Or are you deaf?"

"I am not!" All common sense left Gloria, leaving her with nothing but anger and resentment. Everything in the locker room came to an abrupt halt as everyone turned to look at her. She could feel her face redden at all of the sudden attention.

The boy looked like he was trying to hold back a snicker. He leaned to whisper in her ear, "Fine, you may not be deaf, but you sure are oblivious."

Gloria opened her mouth to reply, fuming with annoyance. However, the teen simply stepped back and whipped his hair back with his hand, a smirk back on his face. "Honestly, I hope I never have to see you again— for my own sake, of course." He walked ahead to get his picture taken.

Gloria bit back a sharp reply, instead scowling as the light-haired teen looked smugly into the camera.

After a few moments, it was finally Gloria's turn for her Gym League photo. She took a step forward, only to be met harshly by the boy's shoulder as he passed her.

_"Oi! Watch where you're going!"_ She wanted to yell at him, but held her tongue. She had gone through enough embarrassment today— and it was only the morning.

Gloria sighed before walking up to get her picture taken. From the corner of her eye, she could see the boy watching her, judging her.

_Remember that he's doing this just to annoy you. Don't let him know that he got to you!_ With that thought in mind, she lifted her head high and gazed into the camera, relaxing her face and clearing her mind. She adjusted her hair before giving a huge smile.

_Snap!_

⚔️ 🛡

"Hey, Gloria! Over here!" Gloria exited the back room, only to be met by Hop waving for her to go to him. She took a breath and smiled before making her way over towards him.

With Hop was Marnie, holding a small yellow hamster Pokémon in her arms. Half of it was a dark black, and the other was brown.

"Hi, Gloria," Marnie greeted her softly, smiling a tiny bit.

Gloria returned her grin before looking back at Hop. "So, are you still waiting to be called for your uniform?" she asked him, tilting her head.

"Yeah," he replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"Heyer, Hop Heyer, please come to the front to get your uniform." Whispers followed the announcement.

"Heyer? Isn't that Leon's last name?" "Since when did Leon have a sibling?" "Is that Leon's brother? He looks so weak!"

Gloria clenched her fists at the last murmur; she wouldn't take any of that about her best friend. Luckily, Hop didn't seem to notice anything, and smiled at the two girls.

"I'll be back," he told them and left to get his uniform.

Marnie glanced sideways at Gloria and turned to walk away. "Hey, where are you going?" Gloria caught up to her and was now walking beside her. Marnie didn't say anything and instead sat down at one of the benches against the wall. Gloria took a seat next to her.

"Is there somethin' botherin' ya?" Marnie didn't even look up at the brunette, instead focusing to the small creature who was now in her lap.

"What do you mean?" Gloria frowned a tiny bit.

"Ya look like there's somethin' wrong," Marnie answered. "Of course, I'm not tellin' ya to say what's goin' on, but it helps a lot to talk 'bout it." She looked at Gloria.

Gloria blinked, her interaction with that platinum-haired boy still fresh on her mind._ Should I tell her. . ?_ "So there's this guy or whatever that I saw today and—"

"'Ello, Gloria." Gloria jumped and spun her head around, seeing Victor sitting beside her. "You okay?"

"You startled me," she told him quietly and glanced back at Marnie. The quiet girl was looking at the newcomer with an unreadable expression. She looked back at Victor, only to find that his eyes had widened a little upon seeing Marnie.

"My name's Victor," he told her, reaching over Gloria to offer his hand to Marnie. "And you are. . ?"

"'M-Marnie," she whispered quietly, taking his hand gingerly and shaking it softly.

"Marnie!" Victor grinned. "Such a beautiful name for such a beautiful lady!" Gloria felt a frown come to her face, and she glanced at Marnie, only to see the girl gazing at her Pokémon, showing no interest in what Victor had just told her. He cleared his throat and tapped Gloria's Dynamax Band with his finger. "You know, Marnie, I'd love to see you again, and battle you too." He stood up. "So, just to make sure we're both even and all, I want to ask if you have a Dynamax Band yet." Gloria looked at the boy in confusion. Didn't he say that he didn't have one? Victor glanced at her and winked silently before looking back at Marnie. "You don't have to answer, of course, but I'm just curious."

"Y-Yes, I do have one," Marnie said quietly. "I'm still tryin' to work on getting better with it, though."

"Of course!" Victor laughed softly. "Well, if you ever need any help, feel free to let me know, and I'll help you out." He glanced sideways before jumping to his feet. "Marnie, Gloria, it has been a pleasure seeing you both here." He took their hands in his, causing Gloria's heart to beat a bit quicker. "I look forward to seeing you both again." He smiled at Marnie and winked at Gloria before stepping back and heading towards the door to leave.

"He seemed. . . nice?" Marnie commented once he had left. "Hop's really nice too, but he's a bit more. . . quiet than Victor? I don't really know how to describe it."

"I hear you," Gloria responded to her. "I know what you mean."

Marnie was silent for a few seconds before lifting her head to look at Gloria. "I'm not really all that familiar with guys and all, but do ya think he might've. . . liked me?"

The brunette blinked a few times, taken aback by the question. "I've known him longer," she half-lied. "And that's just his personality, so there's no real proof that he likes you."

Marnie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and tilted her head. "Oh, kinda like ya and H—" She stopped talking as their purple-haired friend joined them, plopping down beside Gloria.

"Man, it's tough being the younger brother of the Champion." He sighed and glanced at Gloria. "People keep on asking me to give them Lee's phone number."

"I'm sure you can handle it," Gloria told him, patting his shoulder. She looked back at Marnie. Hop followed her gaze.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I came so suddenly and I didn't realize that you were talking and. . ." His voice died off, and he looked at her worried that she'll be mad at him.

However, no such expression crossed her face. Instead, she gazed downwards, a light pink dusting her cheeks. "It's nothin' important. Just forget everythin' I said."

"But," Gloria began, but Hop put his hand on her arm and shook his head.

"Hey, how about we all go now and get something to eat? Since we have our Gym uniforms and all. . ." He glanced at Marnie, then back at Gloria.

"I like that idea!" Gloria jumped to her feet right as her stomach began grumbling. A blush crossed her face in embarrassment. "Sorry. . ."

"You're fine." Hop grinned at her. "Marnie? Do you want to come too?" He must've noticed her shy face glancing up at him and Gloria every few seconds.

Her head shot up. "Really? Ya gonna let me come with ya?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Gloria answered.

"We're friends, aren't we?" Hop stood and extended his hand out to her.

"F-Friends?" Marnie echoed. She looked up at his smiling face before slowly reaching for his hand with her own. He pulled her off the seat and let go of her hand before looking at Gloria. "Ready?" He asked his childhood friend.

"I'm always ready!" she answered him, taking a few steps toward the door. "Now let's go!"

Marnie watched as the two of them ran out of the building, laughing at each other. She glanced down at her half-and-half monster in her arms, who was gazing up at her with a smile. Marnie blinked. "Y'know, Morpeko, maybe friends aren't so bad." She ignored her Morpeko's chirps and followed her two newfound friends out the door.

_⚔️ 🛡_

"Hop!" Gloria groaned as her purple-haired friend jogged ahead of her and Marnie. "Wait up, please!"

"Nah, I don't want to!" He called back, but did slow down to a simple walk. "I just want to get back to the hotel, so that I can get some rest and wake up early tomorrow to train!"

Gloria rolled her eyes and glanced at the quiet girl walking beside her. "So, what about you? Got anything cool about yourself?"

"M-Me?" Marnie glanced at her for a second before staring down at the ground. "Um, my name's Marnie Dusk. . . There isn't really anythin' cool about me, except that my brother's a Gym Leader." She smiled a little. "Y'know, he's the one who caught Morpeko fo'me, back when I wassa kid." Her rodent Pokémon, Morpeko, squeaked as she said her name.

"That's really cool!" Hop told her as they reached him. Marnie flinched slightly as he spoke, startled by his loud voice.

The shy raven head held her Morpeko tighter against herself, an embarrassed pink coloring her cheeks. "Y-Yeah, I guess. . ."

Hop laughed quietly. "Come on. How about we go ahead and to the hotel now?"

"Fine," Gloria said, looking at him.

Marnie nodded quietly, but froze as her black Rotom phone began to ring. She pulled it out and looked at Hop and Gloria, an apologetic expression on her face. "Sorry, but—"

"Don't worry about it!" Hop patted her shoulder. "See you later." Gloria smiled and waved a little at her. The girl nodded and turned around, placing the phone up to her ear.

Gloria nudged Hop, and the two of them continued back to the Budew Inn for the night. As they reached the top of the cliff (Gloria would never get used to that weird elevator-machine), they turned left and began to head over to the hotel.

However, as they entered the building, they saw the front desk clerk being surrounded by a group of strangely-dressed people.

The people all wore black and pink, with gray jackets and spikes to match. They all had bright pink spiked hair, and the same colored horns and fabric in their hands.

"Just come on, already! Give 'er the room she wants!" One of them was yelling.

The man behind the counter stepped back, throwing his arms up in defense. "I've told you before, but we have no available rooms left for her to move to."

"Then make room!" The other person shouted, slamming his hand down onto the desk.

"Hey! Stop that!" Gloria slammed her hand over her own mouth, shocked that she had been so vocal. She gulped as six pairs of eyes turned to her: Hop, the man who had been the victim, and the four people who were shouting at him. Her gaze met the man in black and pink, and she took a breath; she couldn't back down now.

"Oi, mate! Whaddya say? I didn't quite 'ere ya!" The man with the horn said, advancing towards Gloria.

"You heard me," she growled, lowering her voice. "Leave him alone." She held the man's gaze, acutely award of Hop tending beside her, prepared to fight with Nori and Kro if the need arose.

The man narrowed his eyes at the brunette, raising his hand up, ready to push her back.

"Ay, Tony, let the poor lass be," a woman with the same outfit told the one threatening Gloria. "Why don'tcha battle her in a Pokémon battle instead?"

Tony stared at Gloria, a smirk slowly making its way onto his face. "I like that idea. . ." Without warning, he threw out a black-and-white striped mammal, similar to Penny, only skinnier and longer.

"Linoone, use Bite!" Tony commanded. At once, the creature darted towards Gloria, its fangs shining as it charged up a Bite attack.

Desperate, Gloria threw out the first Pokémon she could find. Penny came out, only to be chomped down on immediately by her evolution's Bite. She winced but stayed standing. She shook out her pelt, letting a few drops of a crimson liquid fall to the ground.

"Penny, Tackle!" Penny cloaked herself in a white light and darted towards the Linoone, zipping this way and that. She rammed into the Pokémon from its side, and the force was enough to knock it back into a wall. Penny stood where the Pokémon had been, panting heavily, before glancing up at Gloria with a huge smile and her tongue hanging out to one side.

"Zig!" She barked, looking at Gloria for any sign of praise. Her ears drooped as she found nothing of the admiration she desired.

In fact, Gloria wasn't even looking at Penny; she was gazing at the Linoone, who had recovered from its trip into the wall, and was shaking its head.

"Li," it growled, low and menacing, as it glanced at its Trainer, Tony.

Tony nodded. "Night Slash!" He lifted his fist into the air, the horn in it.

The Linoone smirked evilly, before sprinting in the direction of Penny, a trail of black energy trailing behind all four of its claws as it ran.

"Penny, look out!" Gloria shouted, but it was no use; Penny wasn't even paying attention, and when she finally did look back at her opponent, she had a long, nasty scratch down her back. "Penny!" Gloria's voice was unusually high as she cried out for her injured Pokémon.

"Goon!" Penny barked, looking up at her a bit worried. She then looked back at the Linoone and ran, hitting it again with a Tackle, only this was a lot weaker than the one before. The Linoone slid back a few feet, tongue out at the thought of hurting this creature even more.

"Night Slash once more!" The Linoone needed only to take one step, its blackened claws raised over Penny's head, ready to deal the finishing blow.

"Hatenna, Moonblast!" Before anyone could react, a wave of pink energy slammed into the Linoone, fainting it in one hit.

Tony gaped at the sight of his fallen partner. "L-Linoone?" His words were full of disbelief. Then, he turned his head to see the stranger who had so suddenly come to Gloria's rescue and knocked out his Dark-Type.

The room was silent, and ever so slowly, Gloria dared herself to glance at her hero. Her hands unconsciously clenched into fists as she saw him.

The rude boy from earlier, who had made fun of her; who had embarrassed her— was standing with his back against the far wall. In front of him was a tiny pink Pokémon, with blue hair and a pink party cap. And she did not look happy.

Almost as if sensing Gloria's angry emotion, she charged at the girl with a loud "Hat!"

"Hatenna, return," her Trainer said cooly, pulling her back into a blue Great Ball. He turned his gaze over to Gloria, his amethyst eyes meeting her own. "If you want to battle someone stronger than yourself, the best way to go would be to send out a Pokémon that's at least decent at battling," he commented in his usual rude voice.

"I—" Gloria began, but stopped as she noticed Marnie walk into the hotel at that moment.

"Next time, I'd suggest using a Pokémon that at least has a _chance_ at winning," the white-haired boy said before turning and retreating to his room without another word.

"M-Marnie!" The four uniformed people stepped back at the sight of her.

"I'm so sorry!" It was Tony who spoke. "This is all my fault, and I take full credit for it— please forgive me!"

"Go. All of ya." Marnie sounded tired. "And please don't be mean ta me or my friends."

"Of course!" Tony replied and ran out of the building with the others not far behind.

"Seems like you're popular," Hop muttered, looking at Marnie.

"Yeah, but Team Yell can also be annoyin' sometimes, too. Like, they. . ."

Gloria walked away from them, leaving them both to talk amongst themselves without her. Instead, she went over to the man the “Team Yell” weirdos were yelling at.

“You okay?” she asked, holding her hand out to him.

“Yes, thank you,” he replied, standing up on his own. Gloria put her hand back to her side and nodded.

“Gloria! You getting some sleep or what?” Hop called for her from behind. She turned around, seeing him watching her. He looked like he was about to head to his room for the night.

“Yep!” Gloria jogged to him and walked up the stairs to the floor where their rooms were. Marnie was already in her room for the night.

“Good night, Gloria,” Hop said as he reached his room. He smiled at his friend, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Uh, hello? Earth-to-Gloria?” He waved his hand in front of her face.

“Huh- sorry!” Gloria hugged herself, embarrassed. “I was just thinking. . .”

Hop tilted his head. “If it’s about that last fight or that mean guy, don’t worry about it. You would’ve won that fight, with or without that guy’s help.”

“Thanks, Hop.” She knew that he was trying to help, and was grateful for his compassion, but some things just can’t be ignored. She leaned against him, surprising the purple-haired teen. He stiffened for a few seconds before wrapping his arms around her in a sort-of hug.

“I’m always here for you,” he said quietly. “If you ever need me, I’ll always be here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Okay, okay. I know I said that I had this chapter done like two weeks ago, but I’ve had to edit a lot of it. And even still, I’m not satisfied with the end result. (UGHHHH!! Writing...!)
> 
> Anyway, to make up for all of those mistakes and all, I made this chapter a lot longer than usual (like, 2,000 words longer).
> 
> So, in this chapter, Gloria and Hop meet two new people- Marnie and Bede. I’m sure you’ve noticed that both of their personalities are a bit different than they are in the games (that’s what you get for having an author write about games that she hasn’t even played). 
> 
> What do you think of their new personalities? Do you like them? Or do you prefer the original ones more?


	7. Gym Leaders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another super bad chapter cause I can’t write

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the last chapter, I realized that I may have confused some people with the whole scene of Gloria getting her Gym Uniform. Basically, all of the Gyms have two locker rooms, one for the girls and one for the boys. The room for the boys was used for giving out the Gym Uniforms, and both boys and girls were in it for their uniforms. However, there were personal dressing rooms and adults there too, and there was only a small group of challengers allowed in the locker rooms at a time, so it wasn't really that weird. 
> 
> I apologize to those who took this the wrong way.

"Brook, use Water Gun!" 

The Sobble charged up a powerful blast of water before releasing it and hitting Tuff. She staggered, her fur soaked.

"Tuff!" Gloria shouted, worried for her partner. Tuff stood back up, shaking off the water from her pelt, before running up to Brook and leaping up into the air. And then, she kicked his face multiple times before landing back onto the ground.

"Wow," Victor commented, looking at Tuff, then at Gloria. "Looks like she learned Double Kick."

"Really?" Gloria smiled and looked down at her partner. "Great job, Tuff!"

The Scorbunny grinned, rubbing her rose. "Bun!"

Victor laughed quietly, reminding his opponents of the battle still underway. "Let's show them that we can't be taken down that easily— Water Pulse!"

"What?" Gloria blinked as an even more powerful stream of water shot from Brook's hands, hitting Tuff with such pressure and intensity that she was thrown back, hitting Gloria and knocking her down onto the ground. Tuff was knocked out immediately from the impact.

"I'm sorry!" Victor rushed over to Gloria. "I didn't mean to have her hit you!"

"It's. . . It's fine." Gloria sighed and stood back up, holing Tuff in her arms. "It seems like we still have a lot to learn if we want to challenge the Gyms in a few days."

Victor nodded. "But you were both strong enough to take down my Dottler and Electrike in only a few hits. Plus, you managed to get a few decent hits on Brook, too. That's pretty impressive, if you ask me." He grinned at the girl, causing her to look away quickly.

"I guess. . ." Gloria muttered. _I don't understand why Hop doesn't like him._ "Thanks for asking me to train with you," she said, finally glancing back at him.

"No, thank _you_ for saying yes." He flashed his smile and laughed softly. "I just wanted to train with someone, and I'm thankful that you agreed to help."

Gloria nodded, shuffling her feet. "Me too. I would've asked Hop or Marnie, but they were both gone by the time I woke up this morning."

"Mhm." Victor gazed out over the landscape around them. He glanced back at Gloria before starting to walk. He motioned for Gloria to follow as Brook climbed up to his shoulder.

"So, Gloria, have you heard of the Legend of the Sword and Shield?" He asked as she joined him.

Gloria shook her head. "I've heard of it, but I don't really know what it is."

Victor nodded and led her to a statue of a man. The man had a shield in his hand and a sword held above his head. "There's another story that goes along with the Sword and Shield legend, and it's called the _Darkest Day._" Gloria nodded slowly, letting him continue.

"The story goes that, thousands of years ago, there was a Pokémon named Eternatus. Eternatus was a very powerful Pokémon, even more so than a Mega Rayquaza."

_Mega Rayquaza?_ Gloria looked at him confused.

Victor noticed her baffled expression. "Never mind that. Anyway, it was so strong that it was unable to control and contain its energy, and ended up causing panic all throughout the region. The inhabitants were led by several people, representing each of the eighteen types of Pokémon. Those people, along with their respective Pokémon, were trying to fight Eternatus, when suddenly a bright red glow of energy came from Eternatus, meant to destroy those Pokémon and people.

"Instead, driven by love and fear for their region and Trainers, those Pokémon absorbed the attack, before performing the first ever Dynamax. As one, they fired their attacks, managing to calm Eternatus down. However, that wasn't enough for the people.

"They selected two brothers to fight and end Eternatus once and for all. And so they did. They ended Eternatus's life, even though it was simply trying to control its energy." Victor's hands were clenched into fists as he stared down at the ground. "It's because of Eternatus that we all have Dynamaxing power today, but because it's gone, that may also leave."

Gloria nodded slowly, not sure whether she should say something. Luckily Victor went on.

"Anyway, there's been a prophecy since that day: '_When the time of the Darkest Day has come, two Trainers will take the throne. One of great strength will stand and rise, wielding a sword as his special prize. And the other, of protection and care, will hold a shield as the next heir. Together they must face the evil, and only as one can they save the people. From highest highs to lowest lows, the place will be as black as Murkrows. The Darkest Day will return. Mark these words, or of the wrath you shall learn_.'" He looked up at Gloria. "Do you get it? You and I are—" He stopped abruptly as his phone began to ring. He immediately took it out and looked down at the name before glancing back at the brunette girl.

"It's fine," she told him, forcing a small smile. "I'll see you later."

Victor nodded, putting his hand on her shoulder gently. "Right. I'll see you." He winked and then turned around, holding the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"

Gloria sighed and turned around to go train by herself with Tuff and her other Pokémon. After all, tomorrow was the official start of the Gym Challenge, and she wanted to get stronger before then.

⚔️ 🛡

_Years ago there was a boy who lived with his sister in a small town. Their parents were busy with work a lot, and so the two kids never saw them that often. They grew very close to each other because of this fact._

_The boy lived in a mostly happy home, free from stress and pain. However, he was always worried about what his parents thought. He just was never good enough, no matter how much he did._

_One weekend, while his parents were out for a long trip, the boy decided to take his sister out to explore the Pokémon world. She and he would be safe, since the boy had a Pokémon of his own to defend themselves against anything._

_The boy told his sister his plan for the weekend, and she was overjoyed. "A Pokémon journey?"_

_"Just a short one."_

_"I wanna Pokémon! Please can you catch me one!"_

_"We'll see, Liddy," her brother replied. He grabbed a hairbrush and a few hair ties, moving to stand behind her. "How do you want your hair?"_

_"Tepiggy tails!" Liddy grinned and shifted, excited, as her older brother ran the brush through her hair._

_The boy parted her hair, brushing half to one side. He tied it with a hair tie after a few moments. He tried to do the same thing to the rest of her hair, but the hair tie broke in his hand. He had to stand back up and grab another one for his sister. Finally he was finished._

_"I love it!" Liddy shook her head quickly, making her golden locks slap her brother in his face. He didn't say anything, and instead leaned back to avoid the onslaught of her Tepig tail-whips._

_The two grabbed their coats; it wasn't cold outside; but they never knew when they might need them._

_"Bat?" The boy turned, seeing his family's Noibat just now waking up from her slumber. Her amethyst wings fluttered open as she prepared to follow them._

_"You stay here, Naya. We won't be long." The boy pet the small bat Pokémon. "And if we aren't back by tonight, then you can start worrying."_

_Naya leaned into his touch, making a sound similar to purring. "Noi," she told him, closing her eyes back up._

_The boy looked back at his sister and took her hand. "Ready?"_

_"Yeah!" She beamed and opened the front door, letting them both outside and_ _into the small town of Turffield._

⚔️ 🛡

"Ladies and gentlemen! I am Rose, Chairman of the Galar Pokémon League!" Every eye in Galar was glued to their tv screens, which all had an image of none other than Chairman Rose. He raised his arm up above him, as if reaching for the sky.

"Every year, we have a tournament in which Trainers from all over the world train and battle the Gym Leaders scattered throughout the region. With the help of their Pokémon, these Trainers collect Gym Badges before ultimately attempting to challenge the Champion himself!" He paused as the audience erupted into cheers and chants.

"Leon! Leon! Leon! Leon!"

"I'm nervous," Gloria muttered, holding her stomach. She was in the girls locker room of Motostoke Gym, beside Marnie. Several girls were in the room as well, all in their Gym Uniforms and all eagerly watching a set of tvs along the far wall.

"Don't be," Marnie told her, handing her a bottle of water. "Ya aren't even gonna be doin' anythin' except walkin', and then ya done."

Gloria opened the water bottle and took a few gulps of water. "How do you know all that?"

"My brother," Marnie replied. "He told me all 'bout it."

"Right. The Gym Leader, right?"

"Mhm." Marnie bit her lip and glanced away. "Oh, the Gym Leaders are comin' on screen!"

Gloria looked back at the tv, seeing the screen zoom in on a set of doors in the back.

"Please welcome. . . Your Gym Leaders of Galar!"

The doors opened, revealing nine people, all dressed in differently colored and styled Gym Uniforms.

"The fighting farmer! Here's the Grass-type expert, Milo!"

The camera focused on a strong-looking man with a white shirt and green shorts. He had a large sunhat covering his pinkish-red hair. He waved at the crowd around him calmly, a smile on his soft face.

"The raging wave! It's the master of Water-types, Nessa!"

A girl with dark skin was shown, with long, navy blue hair. A few cerulean strands seemed to shine from the lights. As she walked, she closed her cerulean eyes and blew a kiss at the crowd.

"The ever-burning man of fire! Here comes the Fire-type veteran, Kabu!"

Next came an older man with light gray hair, speckled with strands of white. He had a small towel around his neck, and seemed to walk with a sense of purpose.

"The Galar karate prodigy! Nobody's better with Fighting-types than Bea!"

A girl was next on the screen, with tanned skin and light blonde hair. She had a black and orange headband on, resembling Scorbunny ears, and a tight sport shirt on. Her gray eyes gazed straight ahead, as if she was seeing something from long ago.

"The silent boy of mystery! Allister, friend to Ghost-types, and our newest Gym Leader!"

A boy came onto the screen, wearing a white mask that covered his entire face and hid his eyes from view. His raven hair circled his head, with a single strand sticking straight up in the back. The way he walked resembled a confused zombie, unbalanced and quiet.

"The master of a fantastic theatre! It's the charming Fairy-type user, Opal!"

An old lady appeared, her face pale and wrinkly. Her white hair was hidden behind a fancy cap, and she had a large scarf around her neck. She clutched a cane as she walked, although it didn't really seem like she needed it.

"The hard-rock crusher! Please welcome the Rock-type master, Gordie!"

Next a young man came onto view, with white hair and blue eyes. The tips of his hair were dyed blonde, and he had large purple glasses over his eyes. He grinned at the crowd and gave a small salute.

"The ice-cold professional! Please welcome the Ice-type master, Melony!"

A woman came into view, wearing a white sweater and cap. Her long, whitish-blonde hair trailed behind, revealing a dark blue streak that matched her eye color. She looked around and smiled as she waved at the crowd around herself.

"And last but not least, the tamer of dragons. . . It's Raihan, the top Gym Leader!"

Finally a young man was shown, grinning and waving at the crowd. He had dark skin and a fanged smile. After a few seconds, he lifted up his phone, taking several selfies of himself at the center of the stadium.

Marnie stiffened slightly from beside Gloria. "Unfortunately, we're missing one, but. . ." Rose spoke again as all nine Gym Leaders lined up at the middle of the field. "These are the Gym Leaders that we here in the Galar region are proud to call our own!"

Marnie nudged Gloria and stood up. For the first time, Gloria noticed the other girls lining up at the door. She got up and followed them as they all exited the locker room. The boys were outside in the lobby, and Gloria quickly looked around for Hop and Victor.

"Gloria!" She turned around, seeing Hop waving from the middle of the group. She pushed through until she reached his side.

"Ready?" Hop asked, smiling.

"Yeah!" Gloria smiled at him and glanced around for Victor for a second, but gave up after she couldn't find him. Together with the rest of the Gym Challengers, she and Hop stepped forward, through a narrow hallway.

". . . Please welcome your new Gym Challengers of Galar!"

And then, they were out on the field, broadcasted all throughout the region. Gloria lifted her head, taking in the sights and sounds of the crowd all around her. She glanced at the Gym Leaders, all lined up facing them. The girl named Bea was whispering things under her breath, and Allister was nodding next to her. Gloria blinked a few times before raising her gaze to look at everyone else around her. Their cheering, their chanting, it all felt so welcoming to her. She closed her eyes as she walked, taking in the sounds.

She didn't didn't notice a slightly uneven bump in the field, and tripped, falling forward. Her eyes shot open and she moved her arms in front of her, trying to catch herself before she could fall.

It all happened so suddenly. One moment, she was upright, the next she had pushed down another Trainer in front of her, and then she was down on the ground, laying on the other Trainer's back.

Whispers and murmurs came from the crowd and the other challengers nearby, but no one offered to help her up. They all just stopped and crowded around, staring at the girl who had fallen on the strange white-haired boy.

_Wait_.

She looked down for a second, only to be thrown off the person's back as he rolled onto his side. His violet eyes cut like daggers as he glared at the girl.

"Why can't you ever watch where you're going?!"

Gloria said nothing, too embarrassed to reply. Her face was red as she heard everyone talking and whispering things about her. She saw Hop trying to reach her, but the crowd around her wouldn't let him through.

"Oh, it looks like one of our challengers has fallen." Rose's voice only made the whole experience even worse. Gloria covered her face, not able to move or say anything. "Oh, and what's this?"

"Hey, you okay?" She lifted her head to see one of the Gym Leaders standing there, holding his hand out to help her up.

Gloria nodded slowly. "Yeah," she said quietly, raising her hand and allowing him to pull her up.

"It looks like Gym Leader Raihan has come over to help her up!" Rose's announcement caused shouts to erupt from the audience, and whispers from the challengers around Gloria.

"Th-thanks," Gloria whispered, looking down.

"No prob." Raihan smiled his fanged smile and ruffled her hair before turning to leave, snatching a few extra pictures of himself and a few of the other challengers.

"Wow. You're so pathetic you're making the other Gym Leaders feel pity for you." The white-haired boy crossed his arms.

Gloria looked at him, ignoring his comment. She was already embarrassed enough, and did not want to ruin herself even more. "I'm sorry."

The boy froze, seemingly taken aback by her sudden change of attitude. He turned away. "Whatever."

Gloria sighed, not wanting to bother him anymore; she didn't want to be the one to fuel this strange kid's annoyance. A few moments passed, and Chairman Rose asked for everybody to clear the field.

The Gym Leaders left to the left side and sat down at specially marked seats. The Gym Challengers did the same, but on the right side of the field.

"Gloria!" Hop called her name, and the brunette looked up. "Come on! Sonia's here!" Gloria smiled to herslef and stood up from her seat, following Hop to where Sonia was seated.

"Hello, Gloria," Sonia greeted the girl kindly as she sat down.

"Hi, Sonia." Gloria smiled at her.

Sonia laughed softly and moved back in her seat. "This is my little sis, Rosie."

On the other side of her was a young woman with strikingly similar features to Sonia. She had a soft, pale face and reddish-orange hair. Her blue eyes darted around nervously and her fingers tugged at her hair worriedly. "H-hi." She had a strange accent to her voice.

Gloria blinked. When she had heard of Sonia's sister, she had thought she would have been more. . . outgoing. "Hey, Rose."

Rose looked up and seemed like she wanted to ask something, but the other Rose— Chairman Rose— cut her off.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we begin with our first match of the season!" Gloria looked back down at the field, noticing that Raihan was still on the field, even after the other Gym Leaders had evacuated it already. _Huh?_

"Everyone, please welcome Galar's reigning Champion, the undefeatable Leon Heyer!" The audience erupted into screams and shouts as the Champion's name was called.

"Did you know he was going to be here?" Gloria asked, looking at Hop.

The boy shook his head, his gaze glued on the field below. "He didn't tell me anything. . ."

The crowd chanted even louder (if that was even possible) as Leon stepped out onto the field. He gazed at the people all gathered around him, as if searching for someone. He finally found her in the stands and grinned before striking his Charizard pose.

"Leon. . ." Sonia groaned from beside Gloria, covering her blushing face in her hands.

Raihan, who seemed to be his opponent, looked up to where Leon has found Sonia. His face lit up and he waved his arms around before shouting in a tiny voice, "Rose! Welcome back to Galar!"

Gloria glanced sideways at the two sisters, finding Rose now the one hiding her face. "Why. . ."

"Gloria, watch!" Hop nudged her arm excitedly, bringing her attention back to the battlefield. Both opponents had their Pokémon standing behind them; a Charizard from Leon and a Duraludon for Raihan.

Leon swished his cape back, shouting something to Charizard. Charizard responded by letting himself being pulled back into his Poké Ball. Raihan did the same with his Duraludon.

"Is the battle over already. . ?" Gloria questioned, confused.

Suddenly, both men made their Poké Balls larger. They threw the enlarged Poké Balls behind themselves, releasing their Pokémon once more.

Although, it wasn't exactly their Pokémon.

Duraludon came out first, growing tall in midair. It's back and neck stretched up, reaching toward the sky, which bad now turned reddish-black. It landed back onto the ground with enough power to shake the entire stadium. "DURALUUU!" It shouted, making everyone cover their ears. Even still, it couldn't stop the amazement Gloria felt as she saw this new phenomenon, in which Duraludon now resembled a skyscraper. A few red clouds circled its neck.

That wasn't all, though. Immediately after, Charizard materialized behind Leon, its scales becoming darker as it grew. It opened its mouth, making a wall of fire up above itself as it made itself bigger. That fire wall hit its body, encasing it completely in burning hot flames, which danced along its horns and wings. "CHARRR!" It cried out, lashing its tail around, which also had red clouds circling it.

As the crowd went crazy, both Raihan and Leon shouted inaudible commands to their strange Pokémon. Duraludon raised its head high to the sky, summoning forth a dark purple energy, which surrounded Charizard and attacked him from all sides and angles.

However, Charizard shattered the energy, firing a powerful blast of flames straight at Duraludon. It looked just about over for Raihan and his Duraludon. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ughhhh. This chapter is so choppy and unneat and it ends weird. Sorry. 
> 
> On another note, ROSE IS FINALLY HERE!! I've been waiting so long to finally bring her into this story, and she's finally here. (This is going to be very confusing come later in the story when she and Chairman Rose are talking to one another...)
> 
> Well, since this chapter introduces the original nine Gym Leaders (poor Piers!), here's my question: Who's your favorite Galarian Gym Leader? (of the original 10)
> 
> For me, it'd be Alli or Piers or Milo or Raihan... Or anyone, really— they're all so good!!
> 
> Also, am I the only one who thinks that "The Greatest Show" would fit perfectly with the Gym Leaders when they're introduced?


	8. Worst Enemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter, finally!! I am super sorry for the long wait for the update, but here you go!

As Raihan's Duraludon crashed to the ground with a powerful thud, the stands erupted with a roar. 

"Leon! Leon! Leon! Leon!" The crowd chanted, although Gloria could notice a few people keeping silent about Raihan's loss. Rose was one of those people. . . although that may be because she just didn't seem to like to shout much.

Raihan sighed and returned his Duraludon back to its Ultra Ball. He waved at the audience watching and nodded to Rose. She simply shook her head slowly and took her phone out to text somebody.

"And it looks like Leon secures his spot as Champion for another day!" The Chairman announced, coming into the field. He walked to Leon and then Raihan, shaking both of their hands. "And that wraps it up for today's Gym Leader introduction." He smiled and waved to the crowd. "Thank you everyone for watching, and best of luck to our Gym Challengers!"o

The people in the stands immediately jumped to their feet to leave the stadium.

"That was an intense battle, wasn't it, Gloria?" Hop asked, still seated as he waited for the stands to clear out.

Gloria nodded. "Yeah! I'm surprised by how strong Raihan's Pokémon was!"

"But he was still no match for Leon," Sonia chimed in, and then glanced at her sister, who was still on her phone. "Who're you texting?"

Instantly Rose's face turned red. "It's- it's no one! Just my boyfriend. . ."

"Your boyfriend?" Sonia smiled. "Does Raihan know?"

Rose shook her head slowly. "No, I haven't—"

The older twin shot up. "Then come on! I want to go congratulate Leon, and you can chat with Raihan while we're there!" Without even glancing back, Sonia ran down the steps of the stadium, to the field where Raihan and Leon were.

"Sonia!" Rose yelled, surprising Gloria. She stood up and chased after her sister.

"Come on." Hop nudged Gloria and got to his feet. "I want to go see Lee too." He extended his arm out to Gloria, which she took and let him pull her up so she was standing with him.

They both walked down the steps slowly, watching Rose chase after Sonia ahead of them. After a few moments, they were back on level ground and stepped onto the field.

Sonia was chatting with Leon, while Rose was standing beside her quietly.

"Hey, Lee!" Hop called as he and Gloria arrived to him. Sonia looked up at them, then grabbed her sister and went over to Raihan without a word, much to the younger sister's dismay.

"Hop, Gloria," Leon greeted with a smile. "You two ready for the Gym Challenges?"

"Yeah!" They both replied together.

Leon nodded. "You'll both have to head over to Turffield for your first challenge. It'll be against Milo. . ." He glanced behind him, probably to call to the Grass Trainer, but trailed off as he saw that he had left already, along with the other Gym Leaders.

"I know," Hop said. "I'm going to battle all of the Gyms and win every match that comes my way— and then I'll be facing you, Lee, so just you wait!"

"Me too!" Gloria chimed in. "I'm going to battle you too!"

"Well, when you both arrive in Wyndon, I'll be looking forward to your battles," Leon replied and ruffled his brother's hair. "And until then, keep on getting stronger with your Pokémon."

Gloria nodded. "Right!"

"So, these are the two young Trainers endorsed by the Champion himself?" Both teens froze and turned around, only to be facing none other than Chairman Rose himself. "Galar Chairman, Elijah Rose." He held his hand out to shake both of their own. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Um, thanks. . ." Gloria began quietly, reaching to shake his hand. She wasn't really quite sure what to think, as this was the man who had called out her fall in front of thousands, if not, millions.

The Chairman nodded and turned to Hop. "And if I'm not mistaken, you must be our Champion's younger brother. Hop, was it?"

Hop grinned, glad that someone seemed to recognize him. "Yep! And once I win against the Gym Leaders and Lee, I'm going to take his place as Champion!"

Chairman Rose chuckled. "He's got spirit," he said to Leon.

Just then, the doors from the Gym lobby slammed open, showing a very tired-looking and messy-haired Victor. "Mr. Rose!" He gasped out as he saw the chairman with Gloria, Hop, and Leon.

"Victor!" Gloria said, smiling as she saw him. He ran to them and nodded at her before looking back at Chairman Rose.

"I apologize for being late. . ." He told him, scratching the back of his head. "I overslept."

Beside Gloria, Hop tensed. However, she simply smiled hearing him. _That sounds like something I would definitely do._

Chairman Rose nodded and looked at the others around him. "It's alright. Just. . ." He trailed off.

"Nothing really interesting happened," Gloria said for the chairman. "Except that I fell and it was super embarrassing."

"Gloria," Hop whispered, but she didn't seem to hear him.

Victor blinked and turned to her. "You fell? You're okay, right?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Except for that one person I accidentally—"

"Yes, she's fine," Hop interrupted, glaring at Victor.

"Right." Victor nodded and looked back at Chairman Rose. "Also, Sir, there is someone waiting in the lobby for you. She asked me to come and get you for her." He finished with a glance at the two younger teens.

Chairman Rose nodded. "Thank you." He looked to the others. "I apologize for this, but I have to leave. Victor. . ." He turned to the boy. "Please come with me and show me where she is."

"Of course." Victor nodded his head before smiling at Gloria. "I'll see you soon."

"Yeah." Gloria grinned at him, much to the annoyance of Hop.

The chairman gave a slight nod to Leon, which the Champion returned.

"Farewell," Chairman Rose told Gloria and Hop before leaving with Victor. Leon smiled at the two and ran to catch up with the chairman and Victor.

As the three of them left, Gloria turned as Sonia joined her and Hop.

"So, you're both headed off to Turffield next, right?" She asked, twirling her hair around her finger.

Gloria nodded. "Yep." She glanced around quickly, noticing that Sonia's red headed twin was nowhere in sight. "Hey, where's your sister?"

Sonia blinked. "Oh, Rose? She's talking with Raihan right now. Seems like he is taking this all very well. . ." She was silent for a few moments, before jumping back to attention. "Anyway, you both should probably split up and continue your journeys by yourselves."

Hop was quiet as he heard her, and lowered his head. "She's right," he muttered as Gloria opened her mouth to reply. She froze quickly and looked at him.

"But—"

"Remember what I told you a few days ago? We will have to split up on our journeys if we want to get stronger." Gloria's silence only encouraged Hop to continue speaking. "It's alright, though, because we will still keep in touch, right?"

Gloria bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah. . ." Her thoughts were racing a million times through her head. She and Hop had never been without each other; ever since they were kids, he always stuck by her side, and she did the same with him.

A few seconds passed, and she felt arms wrap around her, enveloping her in a hug.

"We'll see each other again, so there's no need to worry," Hop told her quietly. "I'll call you every day, so it's hardly like we'll be away from each other."

Gloria nodded, hugging her friend back. "Right. . . I'll see you later. . ."

⚔️ 🛡

The following day, Gloria walked with her three Pokémon down Route 3. All around them, striped Zigzagoon ran this way and that, and Penny had to be called back more than once after she ran out to play with some of them. Tuff simply narrowed her eyes at the sight of the many Tiny Raccoon Pokémon.

Eventually they managed to make it through the worst of the clusters of Pokémon in the grass, and found a small clearing.

"Scor?"

Gloria glanced back at her partner Pokémon. "What is it?"

"Bun bunny," Tuff told her, crossing her arms. Behind her, Penny sat down, listening to Valiant and his quiet speech about how to battle and not play or something like that.

"What?" Gloria frowned a bit, stepping away from the tree she was shaking. Scattered around her on the ground were berries off every size and color. She had heard from some of the Gym Challengers that this was the most efficient way to get different berries in Galar.

Tuff shook her head slowly and stood up, walking over to her Trainer. "Scor," she said quietly, motioning for Gloria to step back. Gloria gave her a questioning look, but moved away nonetheless. Tuff took a breath and then jumped up, kicking the tree with so much power that the number of berries on the ground had doubled in amount.

"Wow!" Gloria smiled and glanced around at the berries. "Thanks!" She knelt down and opened her bag up, ready to pick up the berries.

Suddenly she could hear several loud squeaks from up above. She looked up, only to see a wave of her greatest enemies falling down towards her.

Three Skwovets landed on her head and shoulders, squirming around and scratching her skin.

"Tuff!" She called for help, but one glance at the Scorbunny showed that she was already busy fighting off seven Skwovets herself.

"Ugh!" Gloria reached around, grabbing every furry creature she could find and throwing them as far as she could. They just kept multiplying though, and continued covering her and scampering into her bag.

"Dee!" Valiant chirped loudly and flew to Gloria, lifting a Skwovet in his talons. He flew up and up before letting go of the rodent.

Everyone froze and lifted their eyes up at the Skwovet, falling down and down above them. It squeaked in fright, chirping at its comrades to help.

And then, when it was only a few dozen feet above the ground, Valiant swooped down, grabbing it by its tail. He slowly lowered it back to the ground, showing no emotion as it cowered beneath him.

"Skwo!" It squeaked, shaking from fear. The other Skwovets all lowered their ears and tails, glancing at one another.

"Zig! Zig!" Penny hopped towards them all, her eyes wide and excited. At her appearance, the Skwovets all took this chance to scamper and retreat to their tree. Once they had all left, she sat down and looked to Gloria for approval.

"Thanks," Gloria said, petting her Zigzagoon's soft and fluffy head. "You too, Valiant," she said as he hopped to them. Val closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, only to stiffen and whirl his head around. "What. . ?" Gloria began, only to stop as she saw Tuff laying on the ground. She wasn't moving.

"Tuff!" Gloria pushed her other two Pokémon away, rushing to the Rabbit Pokémon. "Tuff, are you okay?" She lifted her head in her hand, biting her lip as she saw tiny red marks all over her snowy pelt. "Valiant, get me a—"

Valiant was already ahead of her, carrying a plump, blue Oran Berry in his talons. He set it down next to his Trainer and watched Tuff worried.

"Zagoon?" Penny nosed Gloria's arm as she held the berry up to Tuff's mouth. Gloria was too preoccupied with trying to help Tuff to tell Penny to leave.

"Rook," Valiant said to Penny, nudging her away with his beak. Penny tilted her head, but soon followed him, smiling, as he led her around the tree to collect the fallen berries.

Gloria continued to gaze at her partner, biting her lip as Tuff didn't move. And then, the rabbit's nose twitched.

"Bun?" She asked weakly, opening her eyes a tiny bit.

"Tuff!" Gloria exclaimed, looking down at her. A relieved smile spread across her face and she held the Oran Berry next to Tuff's mouth once again. She slowly managed to take a few bites of it.

Tuff blinked and stood up a few seconds later, only to fall back down with a tiny whimper.

"You're hurt," Gloria told her, scooping her into her arms. Tuff didn't fight back, and let her Trainer carry her back to where her bag was. Once she had looped her arms through the shoulder loops, she pulled out her Rotom Phone and pulled up a map of the nearby environment. "So it'll probably be best if we manage to get through the rest of Route 3 and into the Mines," she muttered quietly. "Maybe then there will be someone to help you out." She glanced at Tuff as she finished speaking.

She tucked her phone back onto her pocket and returned Penny into her Poké Ball. Valiant flew onto her head, ready to fight in case any wild Pokémon were to attack. However, Gloria took one look at the sky above and buy her lip. Judging from the size of the Galar Mines from her map, it would take at least three or four hours to traverse through the cave system. By then, it would be much too dark to do anything. And there wasn't even a guarantee that she could find someone that could help Tuff.

"Let's set up camp," she said quietly, setting Tuff back carefully onto the ground. She then threw off her bag and dig through it until she found her camping set her mum had given her. The canvas was light pink, and a bit wrinkled in a few places, but it was still usable.

_I hope it isn't that hard to make,_ she thought as she pulled out the metal poles used to make the tent stand up. She bent them and stuck them through the tent canvas.

With the sky becoming darker each passing moment, Gloria finally managed to fix her tent in such a way that it could at least stand on its own. She opened up the mesh entrance and placed her bag inside, grabbing a few berries and her cooking supplies in order to start making some food for herself and her Pokémon. She made sure to grab as many Oran Berries as she could to hopefully help Tuff.

She had to start and fan the fire herself, since Tuff was so injured. After a few moments of stirring the curry, she held it up and tried a bit of it.

_Not good. . . But not bad, either._ She grabbed some bowls and poured the food inside it, setting one down for Valiant to eat. She picked up Tuff's bowl and walked to her.

"Hey," Gloria said quietly. "I've made some food for you. To help you feel better." Tuff weakly opened her eyes and nodded, opening her mouth to allow Gloria to help feed her.

It was late nighttime when Gloria brought Tuff and Valiant inside her tent to sleep safely. Meanwhile she sat outside, staring at the fire.

"I'm sorry. . ." She said quietly, watching the flames dance in the cool night air. "I'm sorry Tuff that I got you hurt. I promise tomorrow I'll bring you someplace where you can get healed."

At that moment, her phone rang, causing her to jump in fear. She quickly whipped out her Rotom Phone, only to relax as she saw who was calling.

"Hey, Hop," she said, managing a smile even though he couldn't even see it. "It's a bit late, isn't it?"

"Hi, Gloria," Hop replied. "And yes it is super late, but I know that you never sleep so therefore you'd be awake to talk."

Gloria laughed softly and rolled her eyes. "I'm not surprised you knew that." She leaned back, glancing up at the stars now. "Is there anything you don't know about me?" She added as a joke.

Hop was silent for several seconds before he finally whispered, "Who you like?"

"What?" Gloria asked, not being able to hear him because of how quiet his voice had been.

"Never mind!" Hop replied. He sighed on the other end of the phone. "Anyway, I just made it to Turffield and into the Budew Inn here, so I decided to call you. Where are you, by the way? You haven't already gone through Turffield, have you?"

Gloria closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, not yet. I'm camping tonight in Route 3. Tuff got really hurt battling those stupid squirrels again, and so we're going to travel through t he Galar Mines tomorrow."

"Yeah. You're okay, though, right?"

"Hop, I'm fine." She couldn't help but shake her head at his worry. "I've survived this long, so I think I'll be alright for a few days by myself." Both were quiet for several seconds. "But I'll call you again when I finally arrive in Turffield, does that sound good?"

"Yeah—" Hop stopped and Gloria could hear another voice on the phone, before Hop's loud yell of, "Nori! Get off of the lamp!"

A smile crept onto Gloria's face as she listened to her best friend fighting with his Grass Starter.

"I'm sorry, Gloria," Hop said quickly into his phone. "As much as I'd love to talk to you, Nori's deciding to use the room as a jungle. I'll talk to you later, though."

"Alright," Gloria replied. "Good night, Hop. I'll call you later."

"Night." And then the call was over.

Gloria sighed and put her phone back into her pocket, not moving from her place by the now-dying fire. She let her gaze travel up to the stars above, and gradually began to grow more and more weary.

With a final look at the cinders of the fire, she stood up and walked to her tent. She opened it up and dueled up in her sleeping bag, resting beside Tuff and Valiant. It wasn't but five minutes later that she was asleep safely in her tent, with her two Pokémon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I am so so so sorry for the late update and all! I am trying my hardest to write everything in time for an update every Saturday, but sometimes I'm just not able to write. 
> 
> Anyway, I have this chapter out and everything, so at least there's that. 
> 
> In this chapter, Gloria meets up with her worst nightmare, Skwovet. So now I want to ask, what is your least favorite Galarian Pokémon?


	9. Fourth-Time Impessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's about time that Gloria finally (officially) meets Bede. 
> 
> Also, who else agrees that Bede's battle theme is amazing??

Gloria woke up to the light of the sun coming through her tent and shining in her face. She groaned and rubbed her eyes, wanting to return to her slumber once more. She closed her eyes once more. . .

"Rook!" Almost immediately, she heard a chirp and felt Valiant's hard beak as he pecked her face.

"Valiant!" Gloria whined, swatting the air to try to push the avian away. However, he dodged her blows effortlessly and landed on her forehead, tapping her several times with his talons.

"What?" Gloria growled, finally looking at him. He blinked and pointed to Tuff with his wing. _Oh, yeah_, she immediately thought, panicking. She sat up and looked at Tuff, finding her asleep, but still looked to be in pain. At least the curry from the night before seemed to help her feel a bit better.

Wordlessly, Gloria picked up her sleeping starter and opened up her tent, noticing that the fire had completely gone out and was now nothing more than a thin trail of smoke. _I probably should've put out the fire before sleeping._ She set Tuff down gently onto a thick pile of leaves before turning back to Valiant. "Let's pack up the tent quickly, and bring Tuff over to Turffield. There should be a Pokémon Center there to help heal her up," she told him. He simply nodded and darted back inside to carry out the objects he could lift. Gloria grabbed the things he couldn't carry, such as her bag.

In only about three minutes, the tent was emptied, and now came the struggle of disassembling it.

She started by taking out the metal poles from the tent canvas, placing them into her bag. Then she tried folding her tent up neatly, only to give up almost immediately and shoved it back into her bag, not caring if it tore or not.

"Okay, let's go." She gently lifted up Tuff into her arms, frowning as the rabbit whimpered softly from her injuries. She placed her finger carefully to where Tuff's heart was, feeling a quick heartbeat. _We have to hurry._ With a silent nod to Valiant, Gloria hurried past the rest of Route 3, making sure not to hurt Tuff any more. Valiant flew right beside her, watching Tuff anxiously.

Up ahead, she could see the entrance to the Galar Mines, and ran in without another thought.

The stone walls were illuminated by multi-colored crystals embedded in the walls, giving the cave system a calm and peaceful feeling. If Gloria wasn't so worried about Tuff, she might have stopped to admire the beauty and serenity of the area.

"Roly?" She turned her head around, seeing a small Pokémon rolling towards her. It was light gray, with a single orange eye in the middle of its head. "Coly?"

"Not now," Gloria told it, watching as Valiant flew down and narrowed his eyes at the strange rock Pokémon.

"Rolycoly!" It cried out and turned to escape. It fled into a small hole in the wall.

"Come on," Gloria said, nodding to Valiant so that he would continue traveling with her. Together, she and him went, following old mine cart tracks on the ground. At times, the glittering crystals were gone, and Valiant had to stay on her shoulder as Gloria pressed along the walls of the cave in order to navigate the dark portions.

There were a few times in the pitch-black areas that she thought about sending Penny out to help, as Dark-Types were able to see in the dark. However, she also knew that Penny would do nothing but cause more trouble and mischief in the darkness.

After what seemed like hours of traversing the uneven ground, she finally saw light coming from a chamber up ahead. We're almost there! She quickened her pace, only to come to a halt as she heard another person's voice from inside.

"I'd stop right there if I were you. That is, unless you want to hand over your Wishing Stars to me."

Gloria gulped, slowly turning the corner, finding someone in the middle of the chamber, dressed in a dark pink jacket that went down to their knees. She was so focused on the figure, thinking that the voice sounded familiar, that she failed to notice a small stone underfoot. She kicked it, sending it against the wall and ricocheting along the floor.

Immediately, the person whirled around, his violet eyes locking with Gloria's. His mess of hair lit up with all sorts of different colors thanks to the gemstones glittering from the walls and ceiling around.

"You," he growled, narrowing his gaze at her. "You're the Gym Challenger endorsed by the Champion, am I right?" He must have noticed the look of surprise on Gloria's face, as he smirked. "What a joke."

"What?" Gloria stared at him. How could he say such a thing?

"Surely the Champion would never have endorsed someone as embarrassing as yourself," he mused. "Or maybe it's because he endorsed you that you're such a failure."

"Take that back!" Gloria shouted, stepping towards him. Tuff shifted slightly from in her arms, but she hardly noticed.

"Why should I?" He stayed still, his smirk growing. "At least the Chairman knows what people are worth when he endorses them— unlike Leon."

Gloria glared at him even more, just about ready to drop Tuff and swing a punch at his all-too-perfect smirk. However, she faintly heard Valiant's chirps of warning, and glanced instead at a Great Ball in the kid's hand. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before lifting her head to meet his gaze. They were no more than a foot apart.

"You're a Trainer," she commented quietly.

"Yes, and you're a weak excuse of a Gym Challenger," he replied.

_He just wants to annoy me. Ignore him_. She blinked and opened her mouth slowly, trying to resist the urge to yell at him. "I challenge you," she finally said quietly.

The kid laughed. "You? Challenge me? You've got some nerve, Weakling."

"I'm serious," Gloria insisted. "If I win, then you can't say that I'm weak, and you can't make fun of Leon."

He turned away. "I refuse."

"What?" Gloria ran back in front of him, staring at him. "You're probably just scared you're going to lo—"

"No, actually," he interrupted. "It's for your own good. Well, really for your Pokémons' good." He glanced down at Tuff, and for a second Gloria thought she could see his face soften. But his proud demeanor returned just as quickly, making Gloria question if it really left in the first place. "I refuse to battle someone who doesn't stand a chance against me. . ." He trailed off, and slowly reached for Tuff without another word.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gloria stepped back, holding Tuff closer to herself.

He simply ignored her and walked back to them, placing his hand on Tuff's head. "Tch," he muttered. "Worthless. . ." Gloria opened her mouth to argue, but the kid stopped her. He took out a yellow bottle from his coat pocket and sprayed a little bit over Tuff's injuries.

Gloria watched in curiosity as Tuff's eyes opened, and she looked around, her gaze locking on the kid.

"Scor," she hissed, now squirming to get out of Gloria's arms.

The boy rolled his eyes and took a step back. "Relax, rabbit. I am the one who just saved your life, so you'd better be grateful."

At that, Tuff froze and looked instead to Gloria.

"Well, do you want to battle now or no?" He stuck his hands into his coat pockets, watching Gloria.

"Y-yeah. . ." She was a bit startled by his sudden question. One moment he was saying that he was too strong for her, then he was helping her Pokémon, and now he was demanding a battle after all that.

He nodded and pulled something out of his coat pocket. "Here," he muttered, tossing it at her before she could even react. She managed to catch it, and found that she had a light purple bottle in her hands, much like the yellow one he had used on Tuff. On the side were letters written neatly: "BEDE".

"Why—" Gloria began, but was cut off.

"Because I know you'll need it in our battle," the person apparently named Bede replied. "And besides, it's not like I'm losing anything by giving it to someone as weak as you, since I have so many with me anyway." Before Gloria could reply, he tossed a Great Ball out in front of him, letting a light green blob appear. It was small, only about the size of Gloria's two fists put together.

"Solo!" It cried out, blinking at Gloria.

"Bunny!" Tuff shouted, running out in front of Gloria, eager to fight the person who had saved her life only a few moments before.

Gloria smiled at her partner's enthusiasm. "Ember!"

Tuff charged up a fiery flame in her paws before throwing it at her opponent. It took the hit, but didn't seem too pleased by the attack.

"Ember again!" Gloria shouted, eyeing Bede. Something wasn't right, and she could tell; why was he failing to give a command to his Pokémon?

_Perhaps he really is weak. Maybe he is too scared to actually battle me. _But one look at his prideful face and she could tell that he was planning something. _But what?_

She got her answer when Tuff landed a more powerful Ember at the Pokémon. Just one more hit and it would be done for. . .

"Solosis, Endeavor," Bede said calmly, as if he was having a normal conversation with it. His Solosis closed its two eyes before sending a powerful blast of energy back at Tuff. Gloria could see little traces of multiple Ember attacks, as if it was hurting Tuff the way she hurt it.

Tuff whimpered and fell for a second, before standing back up and facing the Solosis, although she seemed to have taken a lot of damage.

Gloria bit her lip, and then took out the purple bottle Bede had given her prior to the battle. _It seemed to work then. . . And he said I would need it for our battle. . ._

"Tuff!" Instantly she ran to her, and closed her eyes as Gloria sprayed the purple mist over her head. She smiled and ran back to the Solosis. "Double Kick!"

"Confusion!" Bede said, his voice raised now.

As Tuff ran towards Solosis, it fired a purple beam of light at her. She faltered, but managed to jump up and slam her back legs into Solosis, knocking it out.

However, Tuff was wobbling slightly, and fell down onto the ground. She didn't seem to have been seriously injured by the Confusion, so why was she acting so strange. . ?

"Return," Gloria said, recalling her back into her Poké Ball. Bede chuckled lightly and threw out another Great Ball, letting a small white and green Pokémon appear. Two pink horns stuck out from the top on its head.

With a nod to Valiant, Gloria's Rookidee flew down to land right in front of her. "Dee!" He chirped.

"Okay, Valiant, start with Peck!" Gloria shouted, watching Bede's Ralts and waiting for Bede's command to it.

"Teleport, then Hypnosis," Bede said calmly. His Ralts waited until Valiant was right in front of her before teleporting right behind him. She waved her arms up above her, and almost immediately, Valiant dropped from the air, asleep.

"What?!" Gloria watched, not knowing what to say next. "V-Val, wake up!"

"Swift," Bede commanded. Ralts lifted her head as floating stars materialized right in front of her. Then, at once, they all flew to Valiant, hitting him multiple times.

Gloria stared at her Pokémon, lost for words._ I can't lose, especially not to him!_ Their scene from earlier replied in her mind, with Bede claiming that she was a pathetic Trainer. And it wasn't just her pride on the line; it was Leon's too. _Valiant, wake up!_ She wished silently, closing her eyes._ I need you to. . ._

"Ralts!"

Gloria opened up her eyes as she heard a loud thump against the cave wall. Ralts fell to the ground, fainted. Before her stood Valiant, scratching his talons along the rocky floor. His beak was a bright whitish-blue.

"Roo!" He chirped in a lower voice, casting a glance back at Gloria. The Rookidee blinked and turned his head back to Bede as he returned his Ralts.

"Your Rookidee isn't that bad, I'll admit," Bede said. "But I've wasted enough time here; let's wrap this up." His gaze locked with Gloria's and then he tossed two Pokémon out onto the ground.

The first was a small black-and-white Pokémon, reminding Gloria of a small doll with her small stature and large purple face. The other was pink and blue, with a pointed hat on her head.

Hatenna, Gloria realized, recognizing it from the night when she met Bede back in the Budew Inn lobby. Hatenna seemed to recognize her as well, as she narrowed her eyes and gazed at her with hatred.

Gloria bit her lip, looking at Bede. He seemed to be waiting for her command first, but was gazing at his golden watch on his wrist impatiently. I can't send out Penny. She can't fight well yet. She remembered how the tiny Hatenna knocked out Penny's second evolution in one hit. And Tuff is. . . confused. She let out a breath.

"Alright, Val. I'm counting on you— use. . ." She stopped, seeing his expression. He had a plan. With a slight nod to him, she said nothing and instead looked to her opponent. Bede was watching with a confused and unsure expression.

"Gothita," he began, drawing the word out for a few seconds. "Psybeam. And Hatenna, Moonblast."

Valiant flew up into the air as the two tiny Pokémon fired purple and pink beams of light at him. As he flew parallel to the ceiling of the cave, he flipped onto his back and scratched his talons along the rough surface. The loud sound made everyone cover their ears and cower in pain.

"Ughh!" Bede said aloud, squinting his eyes enough to see and give a command to his two Pokémon. "Psychic!" However, with Gothita covering her ears to block out Valiant's noises. "Gothita!" Bede shouted once Valiant stopped dragging his talons along the rock. "Gothita!" He tried again, trying to bring her attention back to him.

At that, Gloria noticed his Hatenna flinch and blink slowly. "Wait! Bee-Dee!" She called out, remembering how the Pokémon had acted back when she was upset at the hotel.

Bede lifted his head to her, a scowl on his face. "'Bee-Dee'? Pathetic, you can't even say my name—" He was cut off abruptly as his Hatenna leapt up, tackling him to the ground and pummeling him with strong blows from her hair.

"Val!" Gloria shouted, jumping to action. She ran towards the rude (and very undeserving) platinum-blonde haired Trainer. Her original plan was to return the Hatenna back to her Great Ball, but it seemed to her that Bede had it hidden in his coat pocket. She glanced at Gothita for help, however the Psychic-Type was watching her Trainer being attacked with huge eyes and a scared expression.

She looked back at Bede struggling to keep his Pokémon away from hitting his face, and was about to grab her when something swooped in from the side, grabbing Hatenna and narrowly missing Bede's face. The blue bird pushed Hatenna to the ground, his tiny raven-colored talons struggling to keep her in place.

"Dee!" Valiant chirped, trying to keep her still, even with her whipping her hair at him violently.

Gloria immediately knelt down beside Bede, looking at him worriedly. "Are you alright? I'm super sorry that—"

"Shut up," Bede muttered, wiping his cheek. Gloria could see a faint red smear on the back of his hand. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Hatenna's Great Ball, returning her back inside. He avoided Gloria's gaze and said, "Well it looks like you win. Happy?"

"No, I'm not," Gloria replied, leaning back. "You're hurt. . ."

"Yeah, and I don't need your pity!" Bede shouted, instantly shutting up Gloria. "I can handle this on my own, so just leave me be." He sat upright and winced a tiny bit. Then he caught Gloria watching and quickly stood up, obviously trying to hide the pain he was in.

"Come on, Gothita," he growled, turning to leave the cave. "We've got everything we need from here." He started walking, Gothita following, when he suddenly stopped. "Oh, and you." He didn't even look at Gloria. "Don't ever tell anyone of this, and never speak to me again." And with that, he exited the cave.

"Rook. . ." Valiant grumbled, glaring at his back as he left.

"You said it," Gloria told him, sighing. She blinked and turned to Valiant, stretching out her hand to him. "Good job, though, in that battle."

Valiant narrowed his eyes at her hand before facing away. "Dee."

"Fine, be that way." She stood up. "Well, I'm leaving now, so bye."

"Rook?" He looked at her confused for a second, only to realize that she really was leaving. "Dee!" He flapped his wings as fast as he could to keep up with her.

The first thing Gloria noticed when she stepped outside was the bright sunlight. The second was the fact that Bede was nowhere in sight. _Thank goodness. . ._

As she and Valiant traveled through Route 4 and towards Turffield up ahead, Gloria began to take in the different sights and sounds from the new area. Short brick fences surrounded large piles of golden grass. The air here felt very different as well; it was a bit warmer and more humid, and a crisp breeze drifted past.

In the grass Gloria could spot all sorts of Pokémon, such as tiny little Joltik, Eevee, and even a Yamper.

After about an hour, they reached Turffield, and immediately rushed into the Pokémon Center to heal up Tuff and Valiant, and to get something to eat.

And at a little bit after noon, Gloria rented a Pokémon Center room, as there apparently wasn't a Budew Inn in Turffield. She went inside her room and threw her things on the floor, before collapsing onto the bed.

She thought about Bede and how to say his name. She thought about him and how rude he is. She thought about Victor and Marnie, and wondered when she would see them again. Then she thought about Hop and how he must be feeling.

In all her thinking about everyone, she never once remembered to call Hop and let him know that she made it to Turffield safely.

And so, she fell into a relaxing and peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter wasn't the greatest. I'm trying to work on another story, and I want to reveal what it is in a few weeks. Also I have school and stuff going on. 
> 
> And then there's the fact that I can't write battle scenes for the life of me... this is what, the fifth battle Gloria's had? And it still is really bad. 
> 
> Anyway so our Fairy Prince is finally named, and now he and Gloria have more of a reason to hate each other. Yay for complicated characters and relationships...
> 
> So Gloria saw a terrifying Pokémon just mercilessly beating up her Trainer (sorry, Bede!). What Galarian Pokémon do you think is the most scary?
> 
> In case you haven't been able to guess, for me it's the Hatenna line. They are terrifying.


	10. Milo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Milo is an adorable flower child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry for the long wait! One thing led to another, and this chapter got deleted last week right before I was going to publish it. So then I started working to rewrite it, but I got the original chapter back. 
> 
> Ugh. It's been a tough week. 
> 
> But anyway this chapter is actually a mix of the two different versions of the chapter. If it doesn't make complete sense, that's probably why.

Gloria sighed as she stepped out of the Pokémon Center the next day. Tuff walked beside her, her nose twitching at the warm air all around. 

"Hey Tuff," Gloria began, walking around Turffield for something to do; apparently her Gym Challenge with Milo was two days away. _If I had arrived here sooner I would be able to challenge him already._ But as it was, Turffield was full of Trainers, and the Pokémon Center already had to resort to having Trainers share rooms for a few nights. Luckily Gloria's room was on the bottom of the list, so she didn't have anyone to share her room. . . yet.

"Scor?" Tuff lifted her head and blinked at Gloria.

"What do you think Milo's Gym is going to be like?" She hoped it wasn't hard; she didn't want her first Gym Challenge to end in a failure.

Tuff looked at her confused, before smirking slightly. "Bun," she replied smugly, crossing her arms. She didn't look the least bit nervous about the upcoming battle. In fact, she seemed pretty confident.

_That confidence is going to be what costs us the Gym Badge_ Gloria wanted to say, but kept her mouth shut. After all, a bit of confidence was a good thing, as long as it didn't overtake your emotions and thoughts. She sighed and took out her phone, only now noticing the missed calls and texts she got from Hop the night before. With the color drained from her face, she slowly read the messages.

**Hoppy: hey glo r u ok. . . ?**

**Hoppy: have u made it 2 turffield yet**

**Hoppy: is tough still hurt**

**Hoppy: tuff***

**Hoppy: sorry, autocorrect**

**Hoppy: hello?**

Gloria bit her lip and glanced at her Scorbunny, worry on her face. She said nothing and started walking down towards Route 4, her gaze locked downwards as she typed a reply to her friend.

**You: Yes, I'm fine. Sorry for not messaging you earlier.**

She read over what she sent a few times over, thinking that her reply was pretty vague.

**You: I'll call you and explain. Is that okay?**

A few moments passed and she saw that he was typing a message back.

**Hoppy: sure**

Gloria sighed quietly in relief, but worry was still present in her as she pulled up Hop's number and tapped the "call" button. She held the device up to her ear, walking down the grassy path of Route 4, Tuff trailing behind her. She closed her eyes as she waited for Hop to pick up his phone and answer her.

"Look out!" Someone tried to warn, but it was too late. Gloria whirled around, only to be tripped and pushed to the ground as a Wooloo ran right into her.

Gloria crashed backwards into the brick wall behind her, her phone falling from her hand. She groaned and looked down at the ball of floof in between her legs.

"Loooo?" The Wooloo asked, tilting its head and blinking its eyes.

"I'm so sorry 'bout that, Lass." She looked up, only to see a young man standing and holding his arm down to her. At first glance, he looked like the kind of person to be able to send someone flying towards a wall in one hit. However, as she saw his face, she knew immediately that he was anything but mean. Soft emerald eyes looked at her worriedly from behind a sheet of light red hair, partially hidden underneath a large straw hat.

Gloria hardly noticed the Wooloo roll away from her as she tried to process the fact that the Gym Leader Milo was offering her a hand to stand up.

"You a'right there, Lass?" His calm voice brought Gloria back to the present.

"Y- Yes," she stuttered, reaching for his hand. His short, yet strong, fingers wrapped around her own, and she was back on her feet less than a second later. "Y- You're Milo, right?" She couldn't hide her embarrassed face from the fact that she had fallen _again_ and had a Gym Leader help her up _again_.

Milo nodded. "Aye. That I am." He grinned and glanced down at the Wooloo that was now hiding behind his feet. "You just keep getting into trouble, don't you?" He laughed as the Wooloo baaed quietly in response, and looked at Gloria. "Say, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but you're the lass that fell at the opening ceremony, right?"

Gloria bit her lip; she should've seen it coming. _I guess that's who I'll always be remembered as the girl who fell in front of thousands._ She sighed at the thought. "Yes, that's me."

Milo seemed to notice her discomfort, for he gently patted her back. "Don't you worry, Lass. The very same thing happened to someone at his opening Gym Leader ceremony years ago." He smiled softly. "I'm sure you know the lad— Raihan?"

"What?" Gloria couldn't help but smile as she imagined the showy Gym Leader falling on live tv. "You can't be serious."

"I am," Milo replied. "I'll save you the details, but I'll just say that he was trying to show off for a certain lass."

"Rose?" Gloria guessed.

Milo nodded. "Aye. She'd explain it better than I could, so you should ask her instead."

"Okay—" Gloria began, but was cut off.

"Ey, Milo!" Both people turned to a Gym employee running towards them. "Hurry back; we have challengers lining up to battle you!"

"I've got to go, but I look forward to when you challenge me." Milo gave a closed-eye smile to Gloria before glancing down at his Wooloo. They got no more than a few feet when Milo turned back around. "Oh, I apologize for not asking this sooner. What should I call you?"

"My name?" Gloria asked, to which he nodded. "I'm Gloria. Gloria Shield."

A faint smile came onto his face. "A'right then, Gloria. I'll see you later." He waved as he walked away, back to his Gym.

"Scor," Tuff muttered, reminding Gloria of her presence. The girl glanced down at her, finding her red Rotom Phone held in Tuff's paws.

Gloria leaned down and took her phone back. "Thank you," she told her, before looking down and noticing that her phone was on, and that Hop had picked up and could hear everything going on. _How long ago did he pick up? What did he hear? Is he upset. . ?_ With her face paling, Gloria quickly put her phone to her ear. "Um, hello?"

"Groo!" Nori's voice met her ears, making her wince at his loud sounds. She glanced at Tuff, only to find her with her front paws crossed and kicking a stone against the brick wall.

"Hop? Are you there?" Gloria asked, hoping to hear her friend's voice from the other end of the call.

There was a bit of shuffling on the other end of the call, followed by Nori's cry of annoyance. "Gloria?" Hop's voice appeared, and Gloria involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, it's me." She hesitated. "Did I call at the wrong time?"

"No, not at all!" Hop said quickly. "I'm just getting ready to challenge Milo, and he isn't here yet, so I have some time to talk to you."

"Right." Gloria looked down at Tuff for a second. "So, I'm sorry about not calling you last night. I made it to Turffield, but I was just so preoccupied with everything else going on."

"Ah."

"Like, I saw the rude Trainer from before, and I finally got his name. . . Sort of." She smiled quietly as she remembered how she failed to pronounce Bede correctly.

"What do you mean?"

"As in I don't know how to pronounce it, and he refuses to tell me." She sighed. "Bee-Dee? Beh-Deh?"

Hop laughed. "Beh-Deh?"

"Don't judge me!" Gloria told him embarrassed. "Like I said, he didn't tell me how to say his name."

"Alright. . ." Hop was quiet for a second. "Well hopefully you don't have to worry about seeing him again, so there's really no use in trying to figure out how to say his name correctly, right?"

"Yeah," Gloria responded, only to pause as she thought more about the strange platinum-haired Bede. He had actually helped her and Tuff, and even saved Tuff. And what did he get in return? His Pokémon attacking him after he got angry at Gloria. In a way, his injuries were Gloria's own fault, and she felt a bit guilty for them.

"What?" Hop asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Gloria snapped out of her thoughts.

"You said something about how this kid isn't that bad and that you want to see him again to apologize. . ." He trailed off. "Right?"

"I, uh, don't remember saying that." Gloria bit her lip. "I must've said it unconsciously. . ." Her voice grew softer with each word, and she closed her eyes in annoyance. Hop said nothing for several seconds, and Gloria began to grow worried. "Hop?"

"Wait, hold on. Don't tell me this is the same Trainer who started yelling at you when you fell at the opening ceremony. . ." Her silence doubled as a 'yes' to him, and he sighed. "Gloria, you—" He stopped. "I have to go; Milo's back. Bye."

_What's going on?_ She stared at her phone for a moment, too shocked and unsure of what to do to put it away. She couldn't really understand Hop's sudden change of attitude, and she was worried about him.

"Scor?" Tuff asked, looking up at Gloria from a pebble she was juggling on her knees and feet. The small stone fell as soon as her gaze left it.

Gloria took a deep breath and smiled at her. "It's nothing. Hop's just about to challenge Milo, that's all. We should probably go ahead and train too." Hopefully a few battles with wild Pokémon would help to take her mind off of the confusion of Hop.

"Bunny!" Tuff agreed, nodding. She seemed pleased with Gloria's suggestion.

Tuff led the way to a patch of grass, bouncing on her feet happily at the thought of fighting some Pokémon.

Gloria stepped through the fronds, noticing how they all swayed together, even though there was no breeze. The country scent of dirt was stronger here as well, though it wasn't unpleasant.

"Eve?" A faint cry from behind made her turn around, finding herself facing a small brown Eevee. His coat seemed to shine in the sun as he stopped a few feet away and sniffed the air around Gloria hesitantly. "Vee?" He sat down, his cream-tipped tail coming across his paws.

Tuff instinctively moved towards the Pokémon, preparing to hit her with an attack, but her Trainer held her back.

_Eevee is a unique Pokémon, in that it can evolve into at least eight known Evolutions_, she remembered reading somewhere years ago. With that thought in mind, she took out a Poké Ball and took a step forward.

The Eevee jumped to his paws and tensed up, his gaze locking on the red sphere Gloria held in her hand. He also seemed to notice Tuff's aggressive stance, and growled quietly, his mouth opening to reveal tiny, sharp canine teeth.

Realizing that she wouldn't be able to catch the Evolution Pokémon without a fight, Gloria looked to Tuff. "Double Kick," she commanded. Without hesitation, Tuff ran forward, leaping into the air to land her scalding back paws to land on the Eevee. However, Eevee was quicker, and ran around the attack, slamming his body against Tuff— all in a moment that could have only lasted for a few seconds.

"Quick Attack," Gloria hissed, recognizing the move from Tuff's own moveset. "Fine, then. Tuff, use Quick Attack back at him!"

Tuff ran towards Eevee, hitting him with her attack. However, he simply shook out his fur and glared at the two of them.

"Quick Attack!" Gloria instructed, not knowing when the Eevee would use the move again. However, as Tuff was running towards him once more, he jumped up, silvery stars materializing all around him. With a shout, the stars sailed through the sky, hitting Tuff and narrowly missing Gloria. Tuff didn't give up, though, and jumped back up before sending an Ember attack back at him, surprising him, as Gloria hadn't said anything.

With a nod to Tuff, Gloria threw her Poké Ball, hitting the Eevee on his head. In a bright red light, he was sucked inside, and the Ball fell into the grass. She breathed a sigh of relief that the ordeal was over, and leaned down to pick up the sphere, but it opened back up, the Eevee jumping out. He turned and fled without another glance back at them.

"Well, so much for that," Gloria growled, lifting the broken Poké Ball into her hand. She sighed and kneeled down, pulling out a couple Oran Berries, which she handed to Tuff. "That was a good fight you did, nonetheless," she praised her Pokémon, petting her head. Tuff nodded and munched on her Berries silently, likely upset to have let Eevee get away.

"How about we go ahead and leave for now; we can train here again later." Tuff nodded at her suggestion as she finished the last bite of her bluish Berries.

As Gloria exited the grassy area, she was met with a tan and white puppy.

"Yamp!" The canine barked, smiling. "Yamper!" He jumped up onto his hind legs, stretching towards Gloria and grinning.

Gloria blinked a few times, startled and a bit confused by the Pokémon's behavior. Based on how it acted towards her, she guessed that it already had a Trainer, but then again, Penny acted the same way before she was even caught.

"You've got a Trainer?" She asked, petting the Yamper's soft fur. He barked and turned away, glancing back at Gloria as if telling her to follow. Curious, she looked to Tuff before following the Yamper. He led her through Turffield, only to freeze as he saw a golden Corviknight waiting for him. Gloria recognized it as Sonia's majestic bird, and concluded that this Yamper was hers as well.

Corviknight didn't say anything, and simply nodded to Yamper before stretching out its wings and silently leading Gloria, Tuff, and Yamper down a dirt trail. After a few minutes of walking behind Corviknight and Yamper, Gloria could spot Sonia and her sister up ahead, along with a black Corviknight. Behind them stood a huge picture engraved on the side of a large hill. As they neared them, Sonia's golden Corviknight flew to the other Corviknight and closed its eyes as it leaned against the other.

Sonia turned around as she heard her Yamper's cries of excitement, and kneeled down, grinning at her Pokémon. "Good boy," she told him, rubbing his ears and cheeks. Off to the side, Rose watched with a slightly saddened smile.

"Hi Sonia, hi Rose," Gloria told them as she stepped in front of them. She smiled a bit as Sonia stood back up, holding her Yamper. "What are you two doing here. . ?"

Rose stepped forward and cast a quick glance at Sonia before answering, "We were just looking into some of the myths and legends of the Galar Region. Grandma Magnolia says that they could help with her Dynamax research."

Sonia nodded. "Yep. And I sent Yamper to look for you to see if you had any information."

"Right. . ."

Gloria probably still looked confused, so Sonia went on. "Here, check this out." She led Gloria to the edge of the area, looking out over the hill with the engravings on the side. "What do you think this could be about?"

The brunette frowned slightly and took a few seconds to look at the images. It reminded her a lot of the story Victor had told her about earlier. . . "The Darkest Day?" she guessed.

A grin came onto Sonia's face. "That's what I think too!" She then set her Yamper down and pulled out a mini notepad and a pen from her coat pocket. "Do you have any information or anything at all? I'm just curious about how you knew what it was about."

Sonia listened silently and wrote down on her notepad as Gloria recited what Victor had told her a few days earlier.

"I've never heard this telling of the story before," Sonia muttered when she had finished. She looked back up at Gloria. "Anyway, thank you so much for your help. Now I just need to transfer these notes. . ." She walked off and took out her phone, typing what she had written on the notepad.

A few seconds passed, before Gloria remembered what Milo had told her about Rose and Raihan, and his embarrassing fall years ago. So, with a smile on her face, she made her way back over to the younger Magnolia twin.

The redhead was leaning against the wooden fence, watching Sonia's and her Corviknights sleep against one another. She visibly jumped when Gloria came over, and quickly looked at her with emerald eyes.

"Sorry for bothering you," Gloria began, noticing how startled Rose looked.

Rose shook her head quickly. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't doing anything important anyway." Her voice had a calm and sincere sound to it. "I daze off a lot anyway. . ." She sighed and glanced at her phone before putting it away.

"Um, so I have a question." Gloria felt a bit unsure, and bit her lip in nervousness. "It's about Raihan."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Rose's lips, but it was gone just as suddenly. "Go ahead."

"So Milo brought it up earlier, and he said to ask you." She took a breath. "He said that Raihan fell at his Gym Challenge a while ago, trying to impress you. . ?"

That seemed to surprise Rose, for she blinked and then began laughing at the memory. "Yes, although I wouldn't exactly say he was trying to impress me." She took a few seconds to look back at the memory. "It was years ago, and I had gotten a job back over in Sinnoh as a medical scientist. Raihan refused to let me leave, so he announced live that if he could land a series of flips, I would have to stay here in Galar. Well let's just say that that also happened to be his debut as the Dragon Gym Leader, and that he failed. Horribly." She smiled. "Great first-time impression on his part."

She looked down. "Needless to say, I went over to Sinnoh, where I met Ze. . ." She quickly stopped and sighed. "Anyway, I visit here every once in a while, and Raihan always tries to convince me to stay here and quit my job in Sinnoh."

Gloria nodded, her phone beginning to ring from a call from Hop. She looked back at Rose worriedly, but she was already walking towards the two Corviknights.

"Come on, Tuff," Gloria called to her Starter, who was passing time continuing to juggle stones as if they were footballs. "Hi, Hop. What's up?" She asked as she put the phone to her ear.

"I defeated Milo!" Hop exclaimed excitedly, making Gloria smile at his enthusiasm.

"That's great!" She congratulated. "Now you're one step closer to battling Leon!"

"Yep!" Gloria swore ahead could hear his grin in his voice. "And you'll be battling him soon too, right?"

"Yeah, so I'm not too far behind you," Gloria replied. She had been walking down the dirt trail of Turffield, and was now back in the center of the small town. "Anyway, where are you heading next, now that you're done here in Turffield?"

"Well. . ." He paused to think for a few seconds. "My next Gym challenge is over in Hulbury, where I'll be facing Nessa. But I'll probably end up slowing down somewhere along Route 5, if I'm being honest."

"Alright," Gloria replied, and sighed. "Well I'll see you later then. Tuff and I are going to train and maybe catch a few new Pokémon from here in Turffield before we battle Milo."

"Okay." Hop went quiet for a second. "Good luck then, and be careful with everyone, alright?"

"Yes, Hop," she told him, smiling. "Honestly, you sound like my mum with all your worrying."

"Good! Because I get really worried about you, and now I know that you know that!"

Gloria laughed. "Fine, I'll be careful then. How does that sound?"

"It sounds good," he replied. "Alright, bye, Gloria. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." She ended the call and glanced down at Tuff before running into the golden-yellow grass to find a new Pokémon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I finally have an update. Yay! 
> 
> This past week has been so hectic. Three of my teachers decided to throw huge essay-projects at me this week, plus I have Track starting. It hasn't been much fun. 
> 
> Anyway, enough about me and my problems. Wait, actually. . . If you could live in the Pokémon world, in which you didn't have to worry about one thing of your choice, what would it be?
> 
> At least for me, it would be high school. Or big, huge projects, more specifically.


	11. Grass Battle

The roar of the crowd only seemed to become louder with each step Gloria took towards the Gym Field. Her legs felt like jelly, and she wobbled slowly down the hallway. 

The drone of the audience didn’t help at all, and Gloria could feel her nerves getting the best of her. 

_ I got this far, so there’s no going back now! _ She took a breath to steady herself.  _ I earned this battle with Milo, so I can’t be nervous.  _ She reminded herself of the Gym Mission, in which she had to herd Wooloos through a large room with Yampers chasing after her. 

And so she pressed on, ignoring the uneasiness in herself, and moving to the center of the field. 

“. . . And here is our challenger, Gloria Shield from Postwick Town!”

The murmur of the crowd became loud cheering as she stepped onto the field. The bright lights up above shine right into her face, making her have to squint until her eyes refocused. 

Ever so slowly, she walked to the center of the field, looking around herself at the audience. There were several empty patches without any people, but that’s what she gets for being one of the last ones to battle Milo. 

“And now, we have our very own Gym Leader from right here in Turffield Town! Everyone, please welcome the Grass Expert, Milo Midori!”

The cheering intensified until it was almost deafening, as Milo walked down the field. He stopped right in front of Gloria and looked down at her with a kind smile. 

“You a’right there, Lass?” 

“Just nervous is all,” she confessed, sparing a glance around them. 

Milo placed a hand onto her shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. Just ignore the crowd and do your best.”

Gloria nodded. “Thank you.”

Milo returned her gesture and turned around to walk to his side of the field. Gloria did the same on her side and stopped at a painted square on the field, where she would be standing. 

The announcer asked them if they were ready and if their microphones were on, which they both answered with a certain “yes.”

“Then let the match. . . Begin!” 

Instantly a music played through the stadium, sounding over the crowd. It gave Gloria confidence and energy just listening to it, and it took all that she had not to tap her foot along to the beat. 

“Gossifleur, go!” Milo shouted out, the mic on his shirt catching his voice. He threw out a Poké Ball, revealing a light teal Pokémon, only a couple of feet tall. It had five scarlet petals stretching down from its head to the ground and outwards, imitating hair. A large golden flower sat perfectly in the center of its head, just barely covering a pair of bronze eyes. 

Gloria took a deep breath and took out her own Poké Ball.  _ I know that Val and Tuff are stronger, but I also want to give Penny a chance too. And besides, she’s been getting a lot better at fighting with Val’s training. _

“Penny, I choose you!” She tossed the Ball, and out came a striped Zigzagoon. The monochromed Pokémon looked around curiously, her bright pink eyes blinking in wonder. Finally her gaze focused on her opponent and she lowered herself down to the ground, ready to attack. She barked a few times. 

“Penny, start off with Quick Attack!” Gloria called out. A small bit of pride welled up inside as she watched her Galarian Pokémon cloak herself in light and charge towards the foe, zigzagging this way and that. 

“Dodge and use Magical Leaf!” Milo shouted, throwing his arm in front of himself. Gossifleur leapt up into the air, evading Penny’s attack. The raccoon was already a bit exhausted from having run all the way across the field, but still she stood, strong and waiting for Gloria’s next command. 

Gossifleur let out a loud call and raised its head up to the sky, bright green, razor-sharp leaves materializing around it. Then, they all turned downwards and shot through the air, nearing Penny. 

“Avoid them with Quick Attack!” Gloria commanded, her anxiousness returning for a brief moment. Penny quickly ran away, but her fast movements were not able to stop the flying leaves. They sailed right to her, nipping her skin through her thick layer of fur. Penny let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground. 

“Penny!” Gloria’s voice was made louder through her microphone. “Can you still go on?”

Penny slowly lifted her head and stood up, shaking out her pelt. She let out a happy bark to let Gloria know she was okay. 

Gloria sighed in relief. “Then Bite that flower with everything you’ve got!” Penny happily obliged and ran towards her foe, opening her jaw to sink her teeth into the Grass-Type’s body. 

“Rapid Spin, while she’s close!” Milo called out. His Gossifleur immediately twirled in the air before slamming down onto Penny, knocking her back to the ground. “Finish her with Round!” Gossifleur nodded and opened its mouth, singing a few loud notes of an unknown song. A wave of distorted energy appeared around it, and crashed onto Penny. Penny was unable to dodge, and fell onto her belly, her legs splayed out at her sides. She had been defeated. 

Gloria took a shaky breath and slowly lifted Penny’s Poké Ball to return her. “You did greater than I could have hoped,” she whispered into the Ball once she had recalled Penny, keeping her voice low enough to not be picked up by the mic. The music that had been playing so energetically before now seemed quieter, like it was mocking her. She took out her second Poké Ball with slightly narrowed eyes.  _ And here I thought that the first few Gym Challenges were supposed to be easy _ . 

“Tuff, come on out!” In a flash, her snowy Scorbunny materialized right before her, her scarlet ears twitching at the loud cheering of the stadium. However, the moment she saw Milo and his Eldegoss across the field, a grin formed on her face. 

“Scor,” Tuff told Gloria, placing her paws on her waist. She then motioned to her opponent, her grin growing. “Bun,  _ bunny _ ?”

_ She thinks this is going to be easy _ , Gloria thought with an annoyed face. “Tuff— look out!” Her eyes widened in fear as Gossifleur had fired another Magical Leaf, this time aimed at Tuff. The Scorbunny quickly looked up before leaping up, throwing an Ember and turning the leaves into cinders. The ashes drifted past Tuff as she landed back on the ground. She faced Milo with a serious expression on her face. 

“Ember and Double Kick!” Gloria told her starter, worried for a second that Tuff wouldn’t listen. However, her doubts disappeared as Tuff ran towards the Gossifleur. She jumped up, creating an Ember between her paws, and threw it at her opponent. 

“Rapid Spin to stop ‘em!” Gossifleur stretched its petals out to begin twirling around, however, Tuff was faster. Her Ember faded away from the air around Gossifleur’s spinning, but she was still in the air. She crashed down, slamming her two feet into Gossifleur. The heat pads on the soles of her paws burned the Grass-Type, and it collapsed after another Ember attack. 

Gloria noticed the way Tuff winced slightly as she landed back onto the ground; she had been hit by Gossifleur’s heavy petals, even if it was only barely. Worry and apprehension rose up in Gloria as she feared what happened to Penny to happen to Tuff. What if Tuff got really injured. . ?

“Scor!” Tuff cheered, throwing her arms into the air. She jumped up and down, a prideful smirk on her face as she pointed at Milo and laughed. She looked back at Gloria, placing her paws back onto her waist. “Bun, bunny!” She strolled back to her Trainer, grinning all around herself. 

“Eldegoss, let’s do this!” Milo’s voice brought Gloria and Tuff’s attention back to him. Tuff merely raised an eyebrow and smirked as Milo brought out another Poké Ball. But as they both watched, red light particles from his Dynamax Band surrounded the Poké Ball. The Ball grew to several times its size, a red aura surrounding it. 

Milo patted the large Poké Ball in his hand before suddenly turning on his heel and throwing it as hard as he could behind him. The Ball opened, a huge Pokémon coming out from it. It towered over everyone, its size filling nearly half of the stadium itself. It was a light green color, with leaves that drifted down as if it was wearing a small dress. A yellow leaf was tied around its neck, like a scarf. On its back was a large ball of white cotton, with light brown seeds scattered throughout it. 

“Degoss!” It cried out. Up above, maroon clouds began to circle around it, creating a halo above its head. Even higher, the sky became dark as purple clouds spun, creating strong winds and casting a shadow over everything nearby. 

Tuff, who had been so proud and eager to fight only seconds ago, now cowered back from the giant Pokémon, her ears folded back. She looked back and gave Gloria a nervous smile. “Bun?”

Gloria bit her lip and brought out her Poké Ball to return Tuff, but Milo spoke once again, bringing her away from her thoughts. 

“You aren’t gonna switch out your Scorbunny, are you? Give us all a true Dynamax battle and use your Dynamax Band!”

At the word “Dynamax”, Gloria’s own Dynamax Band began to glow and heat up, the fiery temperatures emitting from it heating up the skin around her wrist. She hissed and quickly returned Tuff, ready to bring out Valiant to take down this supersized Pokémon. 

Instead, the red light from her Dynamax Band escaped and entered Tuff’s Poké Ball. The sphere grew in size, becoming heavy in Gloria’s arms. Her eyes widened; was this really Dynamax? She had never used the Galarian phenomenon herself before, and fear clouded all her other thoughts. What if something happened? What if she or Milo got hurt? What about Tuff?

The Ball suddenly opened in her arms, Tuff appearing right in front of her. Gloria was thrown back from the energy it gave off, but she quickly caught herself and looked at her partner. 

Tuff stood tall over the stadium, gently moving back and forth, Dynamax energy filling her. She slowly lifted a paw to rub her nose, gravity intensified from her large form. She glanced back at her opponent, a low “Scorrrr,” coming from her mouth. She tried hopping a few times to regain her balance, but every bounce made the ground shake. 

The audience cheered, their shouts all forming an individual chant, hoping for a truly intense battle. 

Milo smiled, satisfied with Gloria’s decision (even though it wasn’t really her choice). “Eldegoss, use Max Strike and lower their speed!” Eldegoss smiled and floated into the air, a ball of glowing energy forming right in front of it. Then, without warning, it fired it, sending a powerful beam of light energy towards Tuff. 

Tuff slid several meters as she was hit, but shook off the pain. She did seem to be moving a lot slower though than she was earlier. . .

“Ember!” Gloria shouted, having to raise her voice over the chants of the crowd. Tuff nodded as she began creating a ball of fire from her paws. She tried to throw it, but it just fell straight down. In a quick movement, she swung her foot and kicked it towards Eldegoss. It streaked across the sky and hit its target, a wave of heat engulfing the stadium. 

However, Eldegoss didn’t let a little bit of flames hurt it, and instead sent a large seed out in front of Tuff. The Scorbunny flinched as her energy was sucked away, it being sent straight to her foe. 

“Tuff, don’t let that stop you! Use Em—!”

“Max Strike once more!” 

Tuff fell backwards this time, a bruise forming on her chest from the impact of the attack. She closed her eyes and tried to suck in the pain, as Milo’s Eldegoss had landed a Critical Hit on her. She shook once again as her energy was sucked away from Max Overgrowth. 

As Gloria watched in fear, Tuff stood back up, shaking her head and rubbing her paws together. She lifted her gaze and grinned at Eldegoss before firing another Max Flare. 

“Wait, Tuff!” Gloria tried to get Tuff to stop, but she wasn’t even listening. Max Flare after Max Flare Tuff kept firing, even after Eldegoss had fallen. 

The Dynamax Band around Gloria’s wrist seared into her skin with an unbearable heat. She hurried to grab it and threw it onto the ground, but the burning sensation still lingered. 

As soon as the Band left her touch, Tuff reverted back to her normal size and fell facefirst onto the grass. 

“Tuff!” Gloria ran to her Scorbunny, sliding onto the ground as she reached her. Tuff made no movement, even as Gloria lifted her into her arms.  _ What was going on with her. . ? What if we got. . . disqualified. . ? _ She pushed those thoughts away and looked back down to Tuff. “You did amazing out there. Take a rest,” she whispered before returning Tuff back into her Poké Ball. 

“Gym Leader has no remaining Pokémon that can fight, which means Challenger Gloria Shield is the winner!”

She froze. She. . . won? She blinked a few times and looked at Milo, wondering if she really heard correctly. He was in the center of the field, smiling warmly and waiting for her. 

_ Seems like I heard that right. _ She hesitated for a second, then met the farmer in the center of the field. Their hands met in a firm handshake. 

“Congrats on your victory, Miss Gloria.” His voice was calm, showing no signs of the passion he had displayed out in the battle. 

Gloria nodded slowly. “Thank you. . .” Now she wasn’t really sure what to think; should she trust his kindness or keep her guard up for if he was actually like how he was in their battle?

Their hands separated, and Gloria found herself holding a small gold pin with the Grass Gym logo and a copy of Milo’s League Card. 

“You know,” Milo began as she started to read the back of his League Card. “I haven’t fought that hard in a Gym battle before, if I’m being completely honest.” The brunette lifted her head immediately. “I’m really impressed you actually managed to defeat me like you did, and with another Pokémon to spare, no less.” He motioned to Valiant’s unopened Poké Ball. 

“Thank you,” Gloria said again. She placed the pin and card into her cardigan pocket. 

Milo smiled. “So you’re off to face Nessa over in Hulbury, correct? She is a lot tougher than I am, but if you managed to battle me like you did, then I am sure you’ll win against her with no problem.”

Gloria nodded her head up and down. “Right. I’ll keep that in mind. . .”

The two turned to retreat back into their respective hallways off of the field. Gloria was escorted to the front lobby and was about to leave when she was stopped by a Gym employee. 

“Challenger Gloria!” She stopped and turned around to face whoever had called her name. “You left this out on the field.” He held his hand out, her Dynamax Band in his palm. 

Gloria’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of it, the memory of it burning her skin still fresh in her memory. She rubbed her right wrist subconsciously. She debated for a split second whether to leave it and run off to Hulbury, but the man didn’t seem to be in any pain from holding it. She hesitated. “Thanks.” She quickly grabbed it and slipped it back around her wrist, feeling no heat from it at all.  _ Strange.  _

She turned on her heel and exited the Gym. The sun was high up in the sky, and when she checked her phone for the time, it was about noon. 

She healed up her Team at the Pokémon Center, catching a quick meal while she waited for Penny and Tuff to recover. When they were better, she left for Hulbury. If she kept walking, she would be able to reach there before dark. 

And so, she started some music on her phone and walked. 

⚔️ 🛡

She was wrong. 

It was dark when she finally reached the coastal town. 

Of course, it probably didn’t help that she had been stopped almost as soon as she trekked onto Route Five. She passed by a Pokémon Daycare, and the workers there had pulled her inside and gave her an egg. 

“Please take this egg!” They had practically begged. “The Trainer left it with us, saying he didn’t want it because it’s not going to be a shiny! And we can’t care for it because we already have our nursery full of Pokémon!”

If Gloria has known the lecture they would have given her about raising a baby Pokémon, she would have declined. However, as she entered Hulbury, she couldn’t help but think that they hadn’t even told her what Pokémon would come out of the egg. At least, though, she had a new Team member, even if she didn’t even know what it was or when it would hatch. 

“There she is! Gloria!” She hardly had any time to react when Hop tackled her from behind in a hug. She stumbled forward in surprise, the egg and its incubator flying from her hands. Before she could scream for the unhatched Pokémon, Marnie rushed and caught the incubator, holding it safely against her chest. 

“Hop, ya need ta be more careful!” Marnie scolded the purple-haired Trainer. 

“Oh yeah,” Hop replied sheepishly. He stepped back and grinned nervously at his friend. “Sorry, Gloria.”

Gloria sighed before returning his smile. “It’s fine, Hoppy. Just  _ please _ be more careful, like Marnie said.” She flicked his forehead lightly. She completely missed the bright blush that had formed on his face, and turned to Marnie instead. “Thank you so much.” She took the egg incubator back from her. “Really, thank you both so much for meeting me here. You both are too kind.”

Marnie blinked and looked down. “Yer welcome.” She paused for a second. “Hop was the one who asked me ta wait with him for ya, though. I only agreed ‘cause it felt nice being able to stay with my friends.” She suddenly froze and looked at them both quickly. “I- I mean, sorry for callin’ y’all my friends! I- If you don’t wanna be friends it’s fine too!” Her face was red in embarrassment. 

Hop went to her side and patted her back. “No need to be so nervous, Mar. It’s just Gloria and me, and I promise we don’t bite.” 

Gloria tilted her head slightly.  _ Mar? Did he really create a nickname for her. . ? _ She glanced at them again, noticing Marnie relax a little, and gasped silently.  _ Does he like Marnie? _ She smiled.  _ Hop, I will help you. No need to ask me for help. _

The brunette strolled up to the pair and looped her arm through Hop’s. “So we all beat Milo, yeah?” Before they could even answer she went on. “Then let’s all go get some dinner together! I’ve heard there’s a really nice restaurant here in Hulbury. . .”

Hop’s face lit up before quickly glancing away from Gloria. “Sure! That sound okay to you?” He asked Marnie. She simply nodded silently, not at all used to being in a situation like this. 

With the three of them all agreeing, Hop led the way down to the center of Hulbury. The scent of ocean and seafood met Gloria’s nose and only got worse with each step. Hop and Marnie seemed unaffected by it though, probably because they’ve been here in this city for longer. 

The trio reached the restaurant they were looking for and entered, more than ready to begin their meal together. 

⚔️ 🛡

_ “So, what kind of Pokémon do you think you want?” _

_ Liddy’s face brightened at the question. “A cute one! Like Eevee or Joltik!” She bounced up and down excitedly. “Ooh, I really really wanna Eevee! Then I can evolve it into the cutest Eevee evolution!” _

_ Her brother smiled at her enthusiasm and tucked his hands into his pockets. “And what might that be?” _

_ Liddy paused and pressed a finger to her lips, thinking. “Fla-ree-on,” she finally recited from memory. “Or the grass one. I forget what that one’s named.” _

_ “Leafeon,” her brother answered for her.  _

_ “Yeah, that one!” She beamed and skipped ahead of him, making him speed up a little to catch up.  _

_ “I’m surprised you didn’t say you wanted a Sylveon.”  _

_ Liddy stopped and looked at him dumbfounded. “Sylvee-what?” _

_ “Sylveon. You know, the Fairy Eeveelution, with pink cutesy bows and ribbons.” _

_ At that, Liddy gasped. “I want it! Can I have one,  _ please _ ?!” _

_ Her brother laughed. “We’ll see, Liddy. We have to find an Eevee first before we can get it to evolve.” _

_ Liddy seemed to think this through before finally nodding, satisfied. “Alrighty! I’m going to catch an Eevee and name her Pinky, and then I’m going to evolve her into a Sylvia!” _

_ “Sylveon,” her brother corrected. They had finally left Turffield and were on Route Four. He pulled Liddy down and knelt in front of her. “Can I tell you a secret?” _

_ The blonde’s eyes sparkled as she nodded her head up and down eagerly. She kept silent, ready for whatever he had to tell her.  _

_ “I’ve heard there’s a really rare Eevee running around somewhere here.” Her mouth opened slightly in wonder. “If we are lucky, we may be the ones to catch it. How would you like that?” _

_ “Yes!” Liddy squealed and ran past her brother, towards a patch of grass. “Eevee, where are you? Eevee?!” _

_ The boy smiled softly, watching his sister. If only she knew that there really wasn’t any rare Eevee, that the whole story had been fake. But as long as her smile was there, he didn’t want to tell her.  _

_ Besides, he never had the heart to ruin others’ joy.  _

_ “Come on!” Liddy yelled at her brother. “Help me find it!” _

_ He chuckled lightly and tucked a strand of dark hair behind his ear. “Alright. I’m coming.” And he left to search for an Eevee that didn’t exist.  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say first of all... GLORIA WHY ARE YOU SO OBLIVIOUS?!?? HOP DOESN'T LIKE MARNIE, HE LIKES YOU!!!! UGHAJSJNDNSNBSJ
> 
> Ok I think I'm done. 
> 
> Anyway I apologize for not updating. I seriously was planning on it, but, well, I wanted to have Gloria's first Gym Battle be a bit of a challenge. And I didn't quite know how to make that happen. 
> 
> My dad is actually the one who told me what to write, and it seems to be really good. 
> 
> On the plus side, I think I'm getting better at writing Pokémon battle scenes. Also I made this chapter a bit longer than usual to make up for the hiatus. 
> 
> And so now I ask you this. It might still be a bit early, but I'm curious what you guys think...   
Who do you want Gloria to end up with? (Who do you ship her with?)
> 
> Thank you so much everyone, and thank you ErinOfCarson (from Wattpad) for ideas with how to end the chapter!
> 
> I love you all, and I'll hopefully update sooner! 
> 
> Also this story seems to be going by a lot quicker than I had anticipated. Glo might end up challenging Nessa next chapter...


	12. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m starting to give up on writing...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote a lot of this at like 12 am. Hope y'all enjoy it, or it makes sense or anything like that..
> 
> I used to be proud of this chapter, but then... well, I forgot how to write...

Dawn light filtered through the curtains of the Pokémon Center, casting an amber hue to everything and everyone around. A Scorbunny and Grookey chattered quietly to each other, their anger from a week ago gone, to be replaced by a friendliness to one another.

Close by, their Trainers sat with Marnie, talking softly amongst themselves. 

"So, you're both battling Nessa soon, huh. . ?" Gloria fidgeted with the cup of caramel coffee in her hands. As much as she hated to admit it, she was worried about battling the Water-Type Trainer. Milo has been hard enough, and that had been with a _Type advantage._ She didn't want to think about what might happen if she had the disadvantage. _Maybe I'm just a horrible Trainer. . ._

Hop nodded. "Yeah, I'm probably going to battle her today or tomorrow. Mar's is going to battle her in a few days, probably." A smile made its way into his face as he spoke. "She should be no problem for us, with Nori and your Morpeko, right Mar?"

Marnie's head shot up, her attention shifting away from her Morpeko and towards her purple-haired friend. "Y-yes," she stuttered, her light blue eyes avoiding everyone's gaze.

Gloria frowned slightly, looking between the two of them. "Wait, how was your battle with Milo? You both are making it seem like it was no problem at all. . ."

Hop's smile widened into a grin. "Yeah! He was no match for Nori and Buddy; I didn't even need to bring out Kro against him." _Buddy. . ?_ Gloria gave him a quizzical look, which he responded to by rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Buddy's the name I decided to go with for Wooloo. . . I felt kinda bad for having him for so long and not giving him a nickname. We've been through so much. . ."

Gloria nodded slowly, noticing Marnie looking back at her Morpeko. The electric rodent was sitting next to Gloria's incubated Egg, quietly munching on an Oran Berry.

"Say, Marnie?" Hop began, causing the raven-headed girl to look at him with wide eyes. "While we're on the topic of giving our Pokémon nicknames, have you ever given your Morpeko a name?"

Marnie blinked and looked down, hiding her embarrassed face behind her bangs as she fidgeted with her hands. "N-no, I haven't really given it much thought." She glanced back up at Hop again, a determined expression on her face. "But I'll think of what ta call her, if that's okay?"

Hop laughed. "You don't have to. I was just curious, that's all."

The group fell into a comfortable silence, before Gloria spoke up again.

"Guys, I don't think I'm very good of a Trainer."

The atmosphere grew heavy as both of her friends turned to stare at her in disbelief. The uncomfortableness made Gloria squirm slightly in her seat.

"You're kidding," Hop told her with a deadpan face. "Glo, you're the only one who's managed to beat me in a battle— and you did it twice!" He sighed. "I've battled several other Trainers, but none of them even compare to how easily you defeated me and my Team."

"Yes, maybe that's true, but you guys are just making it seem like Milo's battle was so easy, but for me, it was the hardest thing I've ever done; I barely managed to beat him." Gloria sat back, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at the table in front of her. "And while it's true that I haven't _technically_ lost a real battle, there have been a few times where I might as well have." She didn't need to see Hop to know that he was looking at her confused. "That time in the Budew Drop Inn? When I was battling Team Yell and that rude boy dressed in pink had to finish it for me. . ." An exasperated huff left her lips. "I saw him again in the Galar Mines, and he probably would've won the battle, except that his Pokémon started attacking him instead.

"And as for the battle with Milo, he and his Team were trying their absolute hardest to knock my Pokémon out. I hardly got a chance to attack. Then Tuff Dynamaxed, and she just started acting weird, and attacked everything in sight." Nearby, Tuff sunk lower to the ground, overhearing what was said about her. 

No one said anything for several moments, each of them trying to process what Gloria had just told them.

"Ya think you're not a good Trainer?" Marnie asked. "First of all, I doubt that's actually true. An' second, if ya really believe that, then why not train with me or Hop to get stronger? I know for sure that I'm able ta battle ya today, an' I think that Morpeko could use with some more trainin', right Morpeko?" The three of them directed their attention back to the hamster, who had finished her Oran Berry and was already halfway through eating a cinnamon cookie. _Where does she hide all of this food. . ?_

"More!" Morpeko squeaked, smiling and waving her cookie into the air before bringing it back to her mouth for another bite.

A tiny smile made its way onto Marnie's face as she admired her partner. "See?" She reached over to Morpeko, who narrowed her eyes at first before realizing that she wasn't going to take her cookie. Marnie lifted her and set her back down onto the table.

The corners of Hop's mouth lifted as he watched them. "Yeah, I think I can train with you both too, if that's okay."

Marnie's face lit up. "Yeah! Of course it's—!" She froze suddenly, her face now bright red. "S-sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean ta be so loud. . ."

Hop smiled, nodding. "Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong." 

"Um, so should we go now—" Gloria started, but was interrupted as Marnie jumped up, grabbing her hand.

"Yes, good idea!" She dragged her out of the doors of the building before the brunette could figure out what was happening or what to think.

Once Gloria realized that the younger girl wasn't going to slow down any time soon seemingly, and started to worry. "M-Marnie, my Egg. . ?"

"Hop'll get it," Marnie said flatly. Finally she stopped and let go of Gloria, pacing back and forth slowly. "'M really sorry 'bout that. . ." She took a breath. "I. . . I just suddenly remembered somethin', an' wanted ta talk ta ya about it."

"Why couldn't you have said it with Hop?" Gloria asked her, tilting her head.

"'Cause it's 'bout—" Marnie paused. "'Cause I just need ta talk ta ya, and only ya." She took a breath and ran her fingers through her long black locks. "Listen, please don't judge me or nothin', but. . . I've just been feelin' really weird lately 'round someone. I've tried talkin' to my brother 'bout it, but he doesn't really offer good advice."

Gloria frowned. "Could you tell me what exactly is going on?"

Marnie sighed, talking a lot slower this time, as if piecing together her words carefully. "When I'm 'round a certain person, I just feel all weird and. . ." Her voice died out. 

"Do you like them?" Gloria guessed, a tiny smile making its way to her lips.

The dark-haired girl's face blushed red, and she began shaking her head and arms frantically in front of herself. "N-no, I can't! We're just friends an' they already like someone else!" She covered her face with her hands. "Oh, this is so embarrassin'. . . I'm sorry for draggin' ya into this, Gloria." She took a breath and slowly peered back at Gloria from behind her fingers. "Besides, I already know that these two people will be happier together than if one of them was with me. . ."

Gloria wanted to respond, to tell her that she's got it all wrong and that she shouldn't be so hard on herself, but the words were lost as she noticed Hop running towards them, their three Pokémon following, and Gloria's Egg incubator in his hands. "Gloria! Marnie!"

Marnie whirled around, before turning back to Gloria. "Don't say anythin' about what I told ya, please." Gloria simply nodded slowly.

"Why'd the two of you run off?" Hop asked as he reached them. He passed the Egg back over to Gloria as Marnie answered.

"We just hadda talk, but it's all good now." She bent down and picked up her Morpeko, who was eating yet another cinnamon cookie. Marnie looked at the rodent and smiled softly. "Ya really like those cookies, don'tcha?" She rubbed her finger between Morpeko's ears, causing the Pokémon to chirp in comfort and contentment. 

Hop blinked and nodded at her, while Gloria stood silently. Suddenly Marnie's eyes widened.

"That's it!"

"Huh? What? What's it?" Hop questioned, confused.

"Her name. I think I'm going to call her. . . Cinnamon." Marnie gazed at her partner, who seemed extremely proud of her new name.

Hop grinned. "That's a really cute and fitting name for her. I like it."

Marnie smiled shyly and glanced away. "Thanks."

Hop then turned back to Gloria, who had been watching them both silently. "Ready to train now?"

Gloria blinked and smiled. "Yeah!" She met Tuff's gaze from the corner of her eye. "Two on two seem ok? I need to train up Tuff and Val, maybe Penny. You both can use your Pokémon, like Nori and Cinnamon."

Marnie's eyes widened, and she looked like she was going to object, but Hop interrupted her.

"Yeah! That sounds fine!" 

Gloria nodded, before remembering the Egg she was holding in her hands. She was afraid that it could be ruined were she to hold onto it for their battle. And she also feared placing it onto the ground, in case a wild Pokémon grabbed it and took off. _Should I just ask someone to hold onto it while—_

"Ugh. _You_."

The trio whirled around, noticing a certain platinum-blonde Trainer. His arms were crossed over his magenta coat, and his unmistakable violet eyes caused a shiver of intimidation to run through Gloria.

"What are you three doing here in Hulbury, and how in the world did you manage to defeat Gym Leader Milo?" He took a few steps closer to them. Gloria noticed that his gaze quickly averted away when he glanced at her. _Probably still embarrassed from the Hatenna attack, isn't he?_

Hop frowned, his eyes narrowing. "We're here for the same reason you are. Or at least, that's what I'm assuming; you're here to challenge Nessa." Nori climbed into his shoulder and squealed angrily at Bede, whether it was because he was agreeing with Hop, or just because he felt like it, no one knew.

Bede scoffed. "You two? Battle Nessa? What a joke. With half a Team like you have, you'll both be destroyed in seconds, even with Type advantages." He looked between Hop and Marnie, the latter hugging Cinnamon tighter against her chest, obviously uncomfortable with the way things were going.

"Hey," Gloria told him suddenly. "I'm here too, so just leave them alone. They have done absolutely nothing wrong to you."

Bede raised an eyebrow as he turned his head towards her. "Oh, it's _you_, from before. You're so small and pathetic I almost didn't even realize you were there." His smug smile grew as he noticed Gloria's eyes narrow in anger.

"Oi, I managed to battle and win against Milo, just like Hop and Marnie. I have every right to be here with them." She stood up taller and held his gaze.

"Gloria, I don't think—" Hop began.

"Send out your Pokémon; I want to battle you," Gloria said, already thinking of a plan in her head. "I was already planning on training, so this won't make much difference."

Bede rolled his eyes. "And waste time battling _you?_ No, thanks. I'd rather keep my sanity." He looked between the three of them for a few seconds. "Although if you said you were going to train, I suppose I could watch."

"No one wants you to watch," Hop grumbled.

"What? Of course _you_ would say something like that. It's just like someone of your poor skill to be worried about someone of my skills to see your horrible battling style."

"No, I don't think that's it. . ." Marnie began, only to cut off as Bede's cold glare met her.

"Fine." Gloria sighed. "You want to watch us battle? Then hold this." She handed him her Egg. "And watch; our training battle here will make you regret being rude to us." She took a breath and pulled out a Poké Ball and nodded to Tuff. "Tuff, Val— let's go!"

💧💧💧

**Extra because I'm a lazy and horrible author:**

Nessa stepped outside of her Gym, taking a deep breath of the coastal air. She had been battling Trainers nonstop today, and was finally allowed to have a break.

"Miss Vanessa, how does it feel to have lost forty percent of your battles with young Trainers today?" A reporter jumped in front of her, shoving a microphone into her face. Behind him, a woman stood, holding a camera at the Water Gym Leader.

Nessa blinked. "Uh, I have nothing to say to that. I battled my best, and I'm glad that the victory went to those who deserved it."

"Do you ever feel stressed with managing a Gym and your life as a model?"

"I don't think. . ." She knew she couldn't say it, but the most stressful part of her career so far was trying to dodge nosy reporters like these two. Luckily there was only the two of them, so it wasn't as bad as it was in years past. 

"Nessa!" The three turned to the Gym doors, which had opened to reveal a young man, with sandy blonde hair and gray eyes. He had slightly tanned skin and had a scar on his left arm, mostly hidden beneath his Gym Trainer uniform. Behind him, a large blue amphibian stood, dark blue in color. All along its head, back, and arms were black and aqua bumps. It had red eyes that it used to glare at the two reporters.

Nessa sighed in relief as she saw her friend, grateful that he had come out to save her. "Thank, Dylan."

Dylan nodded and turned to the two reporters. "Why don't you both go? Nessa is busy, and doesn't need to be bombarded with questions right now."

The two reporters looked between him and Nessa, before glancing at Dylan's Seismitoad, which was eyeing them suspiciously. They sighed before muttering their apologies and leaving.

"You know," Nessa began after they were gone, "I couldn't handled them myself. And also, I'm not busy, so I don't know why you told them that."

Dylan looked at her for a second as he returned his Seismitoad back into its Dive Ball. "Maybe you did have them under control, but that's not what I saw." Nessa opened her mouth to reply, but he continued speaking. "And besides, they don't need to know that you are free now; they'll keep on coming back to ask questions if you do. It's best to make them believe you're busy, so that way they will leave you alone."

"Hm." Nessa nodded her head a tiny bit, understanding. Wordlessly, they both began walking away from the Gym and towards the Hulbury coast. "I suppose you're right. And I'm guessing you know that from experience?"

Dylan laughed softly. "Yes, back when my sister and I were returning home from our trip to Kanto years ago. Being as she had only just been named a Gym Leader, people crowded around her everywhere, trying to get the best details." He sighed and looked around at the small town around them. "Two years later, and she still gets asked about it."

The Water Leader's eyes clouded for a second as she bit her lip. "That's right. . . You and Bea got hit by a tsun—" She froze, fearing that the word was a sensitive topic for Dylan. However, he simply shrugged and nodded. 

"Yeah, the tsunami came and all. But we're both good now." They has reached the water, and the two of them leaned against the railing separating them from the sea's waves below. The blonde glanced at his friend from the corner of his eyes, noticing that she seemed a little upset still. "Hey, no need to look to sad. It's not your fault, and we're fine now."

Nessa took a breath and nodded. "Right." She continued staring into the dark depths of the water below, until Dylan nudged her arm. She turned her gaze back to him. "Hm?"

Dylan have her a gentle smile. "C'mon, why don't we go and check out the market while we're here. How does that sound?"

"Sure." Nessa pushes herself off of the railing and led the way down the path, before finally reaching a small clearing, where a few shops stood. The things sold varied from cloth to fishing rods to fish Pokémon and other foods. Suddenly Nessa let out a quiet gasp and ran ahead, stopping at a stand with a young boy.

The boy had orange-red hair and green eyes. A beige baseball cap was on his head. He wore a white shirt and green overalls over it. He sat in his seat, swinging his legs back and forth and messing with the dark green scarf he had tied around his neck. He looked up as they approached him, only to grin as he saw who it was.

"Miss Nessa!" The boy cheered, jumping up and running around to hug the Gym Leader. She laughed and patted his head.

"Hi, Miles," Nessa greeted, smiling at the young boy. "I'm super sorry, I forgot what day it was. Did you wait long?"

"Yeah, but it's fine!"

Dylan stood a few feet away, watching them both in silence. Miles seemed to only be around eleven or twelve years old, but yet he still looked oddly familiar. . .

Miles finally stepped back and noticed Dylan there. He blinked and looked between the two water Trainers, confusion, worry, and a little bit of curiosity on his young face. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Nessa and Dylan looked at each other for a second, before laughing a little. "No, not anymore," Nessa answered.

Miles tilted his head to the side. "Then why is he. . ?"

The woman put her hand on his head. "You'll understand when you're older; we're just friends. In the meantime. . ." She moved towards the stand Miles had had. "Do you have your family's herbs and spices?"

Miles sighed and nodded. "Aye." He ran around to the back of the stand and lifted up a woven basket of plants, all neatly tied up into groups. Basil, mint, and parsley were the ones that she recognized at first glance as she took the basket form him.

"Thank you Miles." She smiled. "I'm sure the restaurant will be grateful for these." Nessa turned around to Dylan and caked his name. "Go and get a basket of Arrokuda from that stand over there. Tell them that I sent you, and that I'll pay them as soon as I can." She motioned to another stand a few meters away.

"Aye-aye, Captain," Dylan said, giving a small salute before leaving to gather the fish.

Nessa sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry again for forgetting about this. We were just passing by when I remembered what day it was."

"It's okay!" Miles grinned at her, his smile contagious. Soon Nessa found the corner of her lips lifting upwards.

"Oh, by the way, how's your brother? I haven't heard from him in a while." She readjusted the basket of spices in her arms.

"He's good! He says it's sometimes hard keeping track of our Wooloo and farms, but I help so it's all good." He tilted his head and looked up at her for a second, a confused expression on his face. "He told me to tell you to watch out for a Trainer named Gloria. . ?" He was quiet for a few seconds before his face lit up again. "Oh, I almost forgot this!" He raced back behind the stand and reached down. When he stood back up straight, he was holding a small white flower in between his fingers. It had six petals; three in a group on top and three on the bottom. Dark purple spots decorated the centers of the petals. 

"Milo told me to give this to you. It's a lily!" He beamed, proud, and reached up towards Nessa. She bent down to his height and let him place the lily in her hair.

Nessa smiled softly. "Tell your brother I said thank you. For everything."

"I will!" He looked at her. "Do you like your lily? Milo told me about some lilies that grow on the water, called water lilies. But we didn't have any of those on the farm. . ."

"I do like it, thank you." Nessa nodded. "Although, is this way of apologizing for saying that I'm not his true rival?" Miles didn't answer. "It's fine if it is. I'm content just being his friend, as long as he's alright with it."

Miles sighed quietly in relief. "Alright. I'll make sure to tell him that."

"I've got the fish," Dylan announced, walking to them with a basket in his arms, filled with Arrokuda and a even few Wishiwashi. He carried them to Miles and placed them into the younger boy's hands.

"Thank you," Miles told him. "You two should probably get going back to your Gym. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."

Nessa and Dylan nodded. "Thank you again, Miles. Tell Milo I said hi, okay?" Miles nodded, and the Water Trainers both turned and left after saying bye one last time.   


“What was that all about?" The blonde glanced at his friend.

"He comes by every Saturday with herbs and spices for the restaurant here. I usually give him some fresh fish in return for them." She smiled.

"That's a pretty flower you've got there," Dylan commented suddenly as they left the marketplace. They had to go back to the Gym; Nessa would bring the plants over to the restaurant later that day.

"It's a lily. Miles said it was from Milo. . ." Nessa could feel her face heat up slightly, knowing that Dylan was taking it the wrong way.

"Ooh, do you think he—"

"Not in a million years. We're just friends, and this lily is just an apology for something he said a while ago. And besides," she looked at him. "You have no room to talk. Not with the way Tori's been looking at you lately."

Dylan blinked. "Victoria? Aw, come on, Nessa. You know I don't like her like that."

Nessa raised an eyebrow at him. "Keep telling yourself that. You may not like her, but she likes you. And whether you realize it or not, I've seen the smiles you give her when you think no one's looking. You liiiike her," she teased. 

"What? No I don't." He sighed. "You act like a little kid sometimes with your crazy ideas like this." Nessa held his gaze, not saying anything. "Okay, what's that supposed to mean? Please tell me."

"Not until you admit you like her!" And with that, Nessa sped up, reaching her Gym.

Dylan groaned. "You sound so much like Bea. . ." And then he followed her inside the Gym.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I seriously have half of this chapter be a non-essential bonus scene that makes zero sense? Yes, yes I did. 
> 
> And besides, Nessa's pretty cool. I mean, I liked her in the Twilight Wings episode..
> 
> Honestly though, I wrote a good portion of this chapter at midnight, since that's the only time lately that I've been getting any motivation to write. (But then the problem is I make mistakes and it makes zero sense)
> 
> Oh well. I didn't feel like holding this chapter out any longer. 
> 
> I apologize if this chapter made no sense. Again, I wrote nearly all of it at midnight. Also, I was really planning on having the battle between Nori and Cinnamon vs Tuff and Val, but my brain just gave out. That, and I also just wanted to publish this. 
> 
> I can't think of any question, so... what are some questions I should ask in future chapters?
> 
> Also, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be. It could be a week, or it could be a month. I'm not sure. 
> 
> All I do know is that school is extremely stressing, and finding the time/energy/motivation/ideas to write is difficult as well. 
> 
> I apologize again. This story is falling apart.....


	13. Water Battle

Three days later, Gloria stepped outside of the Pokémon Center, a determined expression on her face. Today was her battle with Nessa, and she was determined to win; she had trained with Hop and Marnie almost nonstop, and now she was sure that she was more prepared for this battle than she was with Milo's. 

Bede had watched several of her training battles with her two friends, not once stepping in or speaking. He still had yet to tell any of them how to pronounce his name, and still referred to Gloria as "_you_", whereas he would call Hop and Marnie by their real names when he spoke to them (which wasn't very often, but still). _He really hates me, doesn't he?_ Gloria could help thinking.

Hop and Marnie had already completed their Gym Battle, but they had both agreed to stay in Hulbury and watch over her Egg until Gloria's battle was over and she had won her Water Badge.

"_Good luck!_" they had told her before she left for the battle. "_You'll do great!_"

Gloria sighed, glancing down at one of her Poké Balls. She had completely become used to the sea smell, and it didn't even bother her at all anymore. _We can do this. Tuff, Val, Penny. . . I'm counting on all of you._

Her walk was stopped short as she bumped into somebody from behind. "Oh, sorry!" She looked up, noticing that a crowd of people were blocking her path. _What's all of this for. . ?_

She tried to navigate through the crowd, a bit curious what this was all about, but was just so small that everyone pushed her around like she was nothing more than an old Mimikyu. She stumbled and almost fell when she felt a hand catch her, saving her from her fall. She blinked, her light brown eyes meeting Victor's dark ones. They looked at each other for a few seconds before he let go of her, letting her stand on her own.

"Everyone, please! Calm down and go back home!" The crowded parted as a man made his way over to Gloria and Victor. He looked oddly familiar, but he had on a baseball cap, sunglasses, a white hoodie and blue Alolan-pattern shorts. "You two aren't hurt, are you?"

Victor shook his head. "We're both fine, Mr. Rose. Right, Glo?" _Wait, so that's Chairman—_ Victor grinned at Gloria, and her head blanked. She swore she could feel her cheeks begin to burn.

"Y-yes, I'm fine." _What's going on? Why do I—?_

The Chairman nodded and pulled Victor aside, the two speaking quietly to one another. Suddenly a woman walked towards them, her long, caramel hair flowing in neat waves behind her.

"Chairman, it's time we must go." Her voice sounded monotone and a bit unsettling. Chairman Rose didn't seem to hear her, so she tried again. "Chairman, we must leave or we'll be late." He still didn't acknowledge her, causing her to scowl more than she already was (how was that even possible?). "_Elijah_."

That one word caused the man to swivel around quickly. His eyes met the blonde's, and an embarrassed smile made its way onto his face. "Apologies, Oleana. What was that?"

"It's time for your reservation at the restaurant." Oleana seemed to calm down, only a little bit, but not even a hint of a smile appeared on her face.

"Right. Thanks." Chairman Rose sighed and whispered something else to Victor before leaving, Oleana and the crowd right behind him.

"What was that all about?" Gloria questioned her friend, tilting her head to the side.

"Don't worry about it," Victor replied calmly, a gentle smile appearing on his face. He glanced at the Water Gym, then back at Gloria. "I'm guessing today's your Gym Battle?"

"How'd you know. . ?"

"Lucky guess." He winked at her and took her right hand into his, glancing down at it for a second. "You should probably get going there then, right? You wouldn't want to be late to her Gym."

"Y-yeah!" She turned her head, heat rising to her cheeks again. Only, as she looked away, she noticed a pink-coated teen watching them both with wide violet eyes. As soon as he saw Gloria watching him, he quickly hid behind the collar of his coat and began quickly walking away.

"Wait!" Gloria called after Bede, starting to chase after him, only to be stopped by Victor as he grabbed her hand.

"Don't worry about him. He's nothing." His dark eyes hardened for a split second before relaxing. "You should go over to the Gym. I'll talk to him for you, okay?"

Gloria breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright. Thank you, Victor." She took a step back, smiled, and made her way over to Nessa's Gym.

"Good luck!" Victor called to her as she walked away. He waited until she left before opening a Poké Ball, a cerulean amphibious-like creature appearing from it. It had two transparent scales, one purple and the other navy, covering the right half of its face. Its hands were light green, as if it had mittens.

"Drizz?" The Pokémon asked, blinking up at his Trainer.

Victor glanced at him. "Come on, Brook. We should follow her and. . . support her." Without waiting for a reply, he began walking towards where Gloria had gone.

Brook hesitated, a frown on his face. "Zile."

Victor turned around, his eyes narrowing. "_Brook_, come on."

The Drizzile flinched, his pupils widening slightly. "Drizz. . ." He bowed his head and walked to Victor, following him to where Gloria had gone. 

⚔️ 🛡

Gloria let out a sigh of relief as her opponent's Seismitoad fell to the ground. She smiled and returned her Pokémon, whispering a few words of praise.

"Well done!" Her opponent returned his large blue amphibian and walked to the Gym Challenger. "It's not everyday someone manages to best Seismitoad." He handed her a Potion. "Best of luck to you in your Gym Battle. Nessa's pretty tough but I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Thank you," Gloria replied. Nessa's Gym Mission was a lot harder than Milo's, consisting of a huge maze with towers of water. But she had managed to clear it, and defeat the Trainers with no problem at all. She was starting to have a bit more confidence in herself, and was beginning to think that maybe this battle wouldn't be so bad.

The man smiled. "Of course. Now go on and show Nessa what you can do."

Gloria thanked him again and made her way up the staircase, the doors opening up before her. The hallway leading out into the field was long, and Gloria took this moment to heal up Valiant while she waited for the announcer to introduce her name to the audience. She was still worried, but her training with her friends earlier had given her some confidence in herself and her Pokémon's abilities.

". . . And introducing our challenger, Gloria Shield from Postwick Town!"

Gloria took a breath and walked out onto the pitch, the crowd cheering and screaming as she did so. There was a few hundred more people than there were in Turffield's Stadium, but that may be partly because Turffield was considerably smaller than Hulbury. 

"And now for our favorite water expert! Everyone, please give it up for Nessa Lomond, Hulbury's stunning Gym Leader!"

Across the field, a young woman walked out, her cerulean and black hair swishing gently side to side as she walked, like small waves. She had dark skin and a two-piece swimsuit/Leader uniform on. The top half had the water Gym logo on it, light blue in color. As she and Gloria met in the center, Gloria could see her bright blue eyes and apatite necklace, the same color as her irises.

"Ah, so you're the Trainer Milo warned me about, aren't you?" The Gym Leader asked, glancing over Gloria for a second.

Gloria blinked. "H-huh?" Milo had spoken about her? Why? How? When?

"Oh, I apologize for that. My name's Nessa, and I look forward to seeing what power you and your Team have right here and now." She ran a hand through her dark hair, her blue gaze shifting to the side for a second, thinking about something. "Well let's see if what Milo said was actually true. You ready to battle?"

"I am." Gloria nodded.

The two looked at each other one last time before turning and moving to their respective ends of the turf. They stopped and turned their microphones on, checking to see if they were working.

". . . Let the match, _begin!_"

The same electric and energetic music from Milo's Gym played throughout the stadium as Gloria threw out her first Poké Ball.

Penny emerged from the beam of light, taking a semi-fighting stance in front of her Trainer. She barked happily a few times, her bright pink tongue hanging out of her mouth. Her gaze traveled around the stadium for a moment before focusing on her opponent. _She's definitely a lot more focused thanks to her training with Valiant_, Gloria couldn't help but think.

At the opposite side of the field, a white and gold fish hovered a few inches from the ground, sporting a large tail fin and horn on its head.

"Goldeen, don't give them a chance to attack first; use Horn Attack!" Nessa commanded. Her Goldeen replied by forming a path of water in front of it as it charged straight towards Penny.

"Dodge it, Penny, and use Snarl!" Penny moved to the side at her Trainer's words, narrowly missing the Goldeen as it charged towards her. She readjusted her footing before opening her mouth and emitting a loud sound, a wave of dark energy escaping from her and hitting Goldeen. "Baby-Doll Eyes now, to make it weaker!"

As soon as Goldeen regained its focus, it looked up, only to be met with a striped puppy blinking at it sadly. Goldeen's gaze softened for a second before hardening again as Nessa shouted another command. It sent a current of water charging towards Penny, the latter unable to avoid it. 

The torrent of water crashed into the Zigzagoon, waves crashing over her head as she struggled to regain air to breathe.

_No! How is this allowed to happen?!_

Penny's head finally broke through the surface, the Whirlpool still swirling around her. Gloria took this chance to tell Penny her next attack. "Pin Missile!"

Several projectiles appeared around Penny before she was dragged back under the water bubble of the Whirlpool attack.

"Avoid them!" Nessa told Goldeen, noticing the small, light green missiles charging straight towards her fish. Goldeen moved all around the field, the Pin Missiles continuing to follow it everywhere. Seeing that it was her only option, Nessa shouted, "Use Horn Attack again on the Zigzagoon!" Goldeen wasted no time in moving towards where Penny was trapped and charged straight into the current of water, the Pin Missile attack diving into it right after.

The water continued to swirl, impossible to make out what was happening because of all the movement. The entire stadium went silent as they waited to see just who would break the surface first.

Suddenly, the torrent slowed down and fell back onto the ground, Goldeen and Penny falling with it. And then, Penny shakily stood back onto her four paws, before shaking her long fur free of the water. She staggered a bit and glanced around, obviously a bit dazed and confused. But then her gaze fell on the Goldeen, fainted a few feet away. Penny's bright pink eyes grew to many times their normal size and she slowly turned her head towards her Trainer. Gloria let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

"Zig! Zig!" Penny cheered excitedly, too proud for having finally fainted a Pokémon. That cheering was cut short, though, as she stopped for a second, coughing up water from the Whirlpool attack. As Nessa returned Goldeen, Penny fell onto the ground, her legs giving out from underneath her.

Gloria smiled faintly at her childish excitement and brought out her Poké Ball to recall her. She brought out her second Pokémon. _It's all on you, Val._

While the stadium music switched to a more estatic tune, Gloria threw her next Poké Ball, Valiant appearing before her. He squawked loudly and spread his mighty wings, having a completely different appearance than he had a few days ago.

His feathers were almost all completely navy blue, his yellow breast feathers gone. He stood taller, more proud with a long, sharp gray beak. Soft black feathers coated his neck and crowned his head, his ruby red eyes piercing into Nessa's Pokémon.

On her side of the field, a small fish waited a command, in the same water as the one created by Goldeen. It was a dark grayish-brown color, and shaped like a dart. It had a sharp and angular mouth, pale yellow in color. It had a dorsal fin and a small, brown tail.

"Bite!"

The Arrokuda shot through the air at that moment, latching sharp teeth onto Valiant's leg before he could have a chance to react. Beads of red dropped down his leg. Valiant let out a cry of pain and tried to shake off the fish, but it latched on, continuing to drain Valiant of energy and blood.

"Val, fly up and get it off of you!" Gloria shouted, beginning to panic at the sight of her avian's blood.

Valiant didn't hesitate as he clapped his large blue wings as hard as he could, and he was high up in the air within a few seconds. The Arrokuda only latched on tighter, the threat of falling making it dig its jaws deeper.

_Act like you did back with the Skwovets_. Gloria could sense her Pokémon's pain, and wanted nothing more than to help him get rid of it. 

Valiant pressed his wings flush against his body, diving down towards the ground, just like he did in the past. This time, though, he swooped up at the last moment, kicking his leg forward and slamming the Arrokuda down into the ground.

"Get up!" Nessa called to her fish, not wanting to believe that it had been bested so quickly. But the Arrokuda remained motionless, and was announced fainted seconds later.

Val flew down in front of his Trainer, standing on one leg and keeping the other off the ground. It was still bleeding a little, and Gloria made a mental note to get him healed at the Pokémon Center after this fight.

"Corv!" He squawked, sharpening his talons against the ground in a Hone Claws move as he waited for Nessa's final Pokémon. 

"Milo was right; you are tough," Nessa said as she pulled out a final Dive Ball. "But we won't let that stop us." The Dynamax Band around her wrist began to glow, and the Dive Ball in her hands began to grow in size, Dynamax energy entering it.

Then, with the enlarged Dive Ball in her arms, she held it close for a second before tossing it behind her into the air. The Ball opened, and a teal turtle appeared from it. As it grew to several times its size, Gloria could see more details of it, like how it had two yellow horns on its head and and yellow and brown spiked shell on its back.

"Drednaw!" The Dynamaxed Pokémon called out, before locking his gaze on Valiant. 

The Corvisquire paused for a moment, his red irises widening ever so slightly at the oversized Pokémon. Then he turned back to Gloria and focused his gaze on her Dynamax Band. "Squire!" He chirped, pointing to it with his beak.

Memories of what happened with Tuff back in Milo's Gym entered Gloria's mind, as clear as if they had only happened yesterday.

Valiant's eyes narrowed, as if sending his Trainer's doubt, and turned back to Drednaw, flapping his wings to escape into the air. At Gloria's command of Pluck, he dove towards the Water- Rock- hybrid. Unable to dodge, Drednaw growled as Val's beak rammed into the soft skin of Drednaw's neck.

The earth shook as Drednaw stretched its neck out, aiming to clamp down on Valiant with large, sharp teeth.

"Drednaw!" Nessa yelled, hoping to gain its attention. "Max Geyser!"

Immediately, Drednaw formed a sphere of water in front of it, before firing it towards Valiant. The highly-pressurized water slammed into him from the air, sending him flying towards the stands.

A red barrier appeared and Val was knocked into that instead of the audience. Finally, after what seemed like years, the beam of water subsided, and Valiant fell towards the earth.

And then, just as it seemed that he was done for, he spread his wings and caught a small air current before hitting the ground. "Corv! Corvi!" He looked at Gloria, pointing at her Dynamax Band once more with his beak.

_Tuff is in a major disadvantage in this Gym, so she can't fight. . . And Val is close to fainting. . ._ She gazed down at her Dynamax Band. _Maybe. . . Maybe I do need to Dynamax him. We don't seem to be doing any damage otherwise, and it would at least give us a fighting chance_. So she pulled out his Poké Ball and returned him.

"What's going on? Challenger Gloria has seemingly returned her Corvisquire. What will she do next?!"

She closed her eyes, focusing on bringing her energy down to her right wrist. She felt calmer, somehow, and could feel her body relaxing. The Dynamax Band on her arm warmed slightly, though it wasn't uncomfortable like it had been back in Turffield.

Gloria could feel herself relaxing even more as her energy was transferred from the Band to Valiant's Poké Ball, enlarging it in size.

"And it looks like she has decided to Dynamax her Corvisquire! How will this match end?"

_You're the only hope we have to win._ She took a breath and turned around, tossing the Poké Ball as hard as she could into the air, like she had seen Milo and Nessa do earlier.

The Ball opened, Valiant appearing from it, much bigger than he had been. The Dynamax Band was still comfortable against Gloria's wrist. _So far, so good. . ._

"Pluck!"

Valiant blinked at her for a second before flapping his wings and creating a huge gust of wind. Drednaw responded by firing its Max Geyser, the two attacks colliding in the air and spraying water all around in a shower of rain.

"Do it again!" Gloria shouted, not quite sure what that move was called.

Val fired another attack, and this time he managed to hit Drednaw before Nessa could give it a command. By now they were both around the same amount of health.

Gloria thought for a moment. "Can you still do Power Trip?"

Valiant nodded and created a column of dark energy around him.

"Use Max Darkness too!" Nessa said to Drednaw.

The two charged their attacks and sent them towards the other at the same time, encasing them both in darkness. No one could see what the outcome was.

When the shadows finally cleared away, two normally-sized Pokémon laid on the field, fainted. Valiant and Drednaw had both knocked each other out.

"And it looks like it's a tie? What will happen now?"

Gloria suddenly gasped, remembering Tuff. "Wait!" She pulled out her Starter's Ball and released her. "I still have one Pokémon left; it isn't a tie!"

Tuff blinked and glanced around slowly, her large eyes gazing at Valiant's fainted form. A frown formed on her face, and she glanced at Gloria. 

The announcer thought for a moment. "Challenger Gloria Shield has one remaining Pokémon, while Nessa is out of usable Pokémon. Gloria is the winner!"

The audience erupted into cheers of congratulations as Gloria returned Val and walked to the center of the field to meet with Nessa. Tuff followed more slowly behind her.

Nessa smiled warmly at the teen, holding her hand out for a handshake. "That was an amazing battle we had here. Not very many can get past me like you did."

"Thank you," Gloria replied, returning her smile and handshake. "It was tough, but I'm glad I managed to win in the end."

Nessa nodded at her. "I was holding my breath some of those times during the battle; the moments with your Zigzagoon and my Arrokuda, as well as our Dynamaxed Pokémon. . . They had me really worried." She let out a small laugh. "Anyway, enough of my nonsensical talking— here's your Water Badge. You deserve it." She held out a small pin with a blue splash of water on the front of it, as well as her League Card.

"Thank you," Gloria said, taking both items. She put them into her pockets and looked back at Nessa. "Thank you again for the battle. I really enjoyed it."

"I'm glad you did."

And with that, they turned and exited the field. As soon as Gloria was away from the prying eyes of the audience, she leaned down to Tuff and grinned at her. "How're you feeling?"

"Scor?" Tuff tilted her head, then frowned as she realized that Gloria was talking about the fact that she didn't fight. "Bun," she muttered. She crossed her arms and looked away.

Gloria sighed. "I'm sorry you didn't get to fight today. It's just. . ." _You weren't exactly that cooperative in our last Gym Battle._ "Nessa's a Water Trainer, and with you being a Fire-Type. . ."

"Bunny." Tuff growled quietly, before sarcastically adding, "_Scor_bun, _scor_."

"Listen, I'm sorry, okay. I promise—" Gloria stooped as she noticed Victor walking towards her. "I'm sorry," she repeated. Then she brought out Tuff's Poké Ball.

Tuff could only see Victor for a second, and narrowed her eyes at the sight. Then she saw him no more as she was pulled into her Poké Ball.

"Victor!" Gloria greeted her friend, running up to him.

He smiled and high-fived her. "Awesome battle, Glo! I saw the whole thing!"

The girl froze for a second. "Y-you did?"

Victor nodded. "No need to be so nervous. I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation, because of how great it was."

"Thanks. . ."

Victor laughed and patted her back. They began walking out of the stadium together, him telling her that the Chairman wanted to talk to her over in the Hulbury restaurant.

As they chatted quietly, Gloria's fingers rubbed against her newest Gym Badge.

_Two down, six more to go._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo.... Glo and Vic... 
> 
> Anyway moving on, I actually posted another chapter! Yayy!!
> 
> Also, I keep on getting a lot of questions about Gloria. . . First off, no, Victor and Gloria are NOT related in this fic. And second, I am not going to say what I ship with Gloria, whether it be Hopria, Bederia, or Vic x Glo. (Victoria? GalarShipping? BudewShipping?? Idek what it's called.) 
> 
> I'm very sure that as more time goes on, you all will pick up on just what ship I like. 
> 
> Oh, and also, somebody's Egg will finally hatch next chapter!
> 
> What do y'all think or want to hatch from the Egg?
> 
> And I think that's it... it's late and I have a ton of homework and my phone's about to die... 
> 
> So umm.. bye


	14. Egg

Gloria followed Victor away from Hulbury Stadium and towards where the Pokémon Center was located. The Hulbury restaurant was close by, and there was still a large crowd of people surrounding the building.

"You should go and get your Pokémon healed up," Victor suggested. "I'll head on into the restaurant. When you're done, come on in; Chairman Rose wanted to talk to you."

Gloria nodded. "Alright. Thanks, Victor." He smiled and patted her shoulder before heading towards the restaurant. He pushed past the group and muttered something to the guard in the front, and then went inside.

The younger brunette turned towards the Center and opened the door. Almost immediately she was met with Hop's golden eyes as he turned to face her. His gaze brightened almost immediately.

"Gloria!" He shouted and grinned as his friend walked closer to him. Across the table from him, Marnie shot her head up, rubbing her eyes.

"Did ya really have ta yell?" She muttered, yawning. "Ya woke me up."

Hop glanced at her, embarrassed. "Sorry, Mar." He looked back to Gloria. "So? How'd it go? Did you win? You have to have won, right?"

Gloria smiled a tiny bit and walked up to the counter of the Pokémon Center. She handed the nurse Valiant and Penny's Poké Balls and went back to Hop and Marnie. "So," she plopped herself down next to Marnie in the booth. Marnie shifted and put her head on Gloria's shoulder, falling asleep again almost instantly. "It was tough, but. . ." Gloria pulled out her Water Badge and placed it onto the table, followed by her Grass Badge and the Gym Ring.

Hop blinked for a second. "Yeah! You did it! See, all that training we did really payed off, didn't it?" He grinned, Gloria matching his expression. 

Marnie growled quietly. "Oi, can't the two of ya shut up? I'm tryna sleep. . ." She trailed off as she noticed both of her friends looking at her, surprised and confused. Her eyes widened. "I-I'm so sorry I said that. . ! I just. . . I didn't get much sleep last night, y'know?" Her face reddened as Hop and Gloria continued to watch her.

"I. . . Cinnamon decided ta run out last night, and I had ta chase her, and then there was Team Yell that had found me. . ." She began to shrink back from the pressure. "I know I didn't have a good night, but that's still no excuse ta snap at ya both like I did."

Hop and Gloria shared a glance at each other. "You don't need to apologize all the time," Hop said gently. "You did nothing wrong." He laughed quietly. "Honestly I get annoyed easily when I haven't had much sleep, so I totally understand. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for shouting." He looked back to Gloria, his enthusiasm returning. "So, you won against Nessa. I guess that means you're off to face Kabu, aren't you?" He placed her two Gym Badges into the ring with tiny magnets that were imbedded in the sides.

Gloria nodded. "Yep!" She wasn't the least bit worried anymore about her upcoming battle; after all, she had defeated Milo and Nessa, the latter with only two Pokémon. She took back her Gym Badges and turned her head as the Center's healing bells rang. "I'll be right back. Val and Penny are healed up."

She left them both and walked to the front counter, Nurse Joy greeting her with a smile.

"Here are your two Pokémon, all healed up!" The nurse beamed. "Although, I would advise you to take it easy with your Corvisquire; his leg isn't completely better. But other than that, they're both happy and healthy!"

"Thank you," Gloria told her, placing their Poké Balls into her cardigan pocket. She was about to return to her friends when Nurse Joy stopped her.

"Hold on a second. . ." She left and returned a few seconds later, holding Gloria's Egg Incubator in her hands. "Your friends asked me to check your Egg while you were fighting Nessa. And I'm pleased to say that it's healthy, and nearly close to hatching."

"Oh?" Gloria took back her Egg and glanced at it. _That'll be exciting. I hope it hatches really soon. . ._ "Thanks again," she said to Nurse Joy before returning to Hop and Marnie. The younger girl had her face in her arms, asleep against the table. "Hey," she whispered as she came near them, not wanting to wake Marnie again.

"Hm?" 

"So, since we're both done with our battle with Nessa, why don't we go on back to Motostoke together for Kabu's battle?" She gave a small smile.

Hop's face brightened. "Yeah, I'd lo—!" He caught himself and hit his lip, glancing at Marnie. "I'd really like that," he repeated, much softer this time.

Gloria nodded happily, only to stop and look at their black-haired friend. "Should we tell Marnie. . ?"

"Tell me what?" Marnie yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "What's goin' on?"

"Well. . . Hop and I were just about to leave to head over to Motostoke." Gloria shuffled her feet, holding the Incubator closer to herself. "Y-You can come too if you like. I just didn't want to wake you again."

Marnie rubbed her eyes and let her gaze travel between the two of them. "I'll stay here. I need ta get some sleep, y'know? And besides, you two haven't had a moment ta yerselves this whole time, have ya?" She gave a tiny, almost forced smile. "So you two go 'n ahead. I'll catch up with ya guys later."

"If you're really so sure. . ."

"I am. Now go on an' let me sleep 'n peace." Without looking at either of them, she put her head back onto the table, covering it with her arms.

"Come on," Hop murmured, nudging Gloria. She nodded and followed him outside.

The crowd of people were still in front of the restaurant as they walked past, the sight never registering to Gloria's mind until they had almost left Hulbury.

"Aah, I'm so sorry Hop! I just remembered that there's something I have to do. Victor wanted me to—"

Hop flinched slightly, only to look away from her face. "Go on then. I. . . I'll see you in Motostoke."

"Hop." Gloria carefully set her Incubator onto the ground and went to her friend. He turned around, only to have her arms wrap around him. "I'm sorry I'm always brushing you off lately. Once I get to Motostoke, we'll be together again. That sound okay?"

Hop hesitated, before finally returning the hug. "Yeah. I'll see you there." He stepped back and headed into the Second Galar Mines before Gloria could object. She watched the darkness of the caverns surround him, until he was no longer visible.

"I'm sorry. . ." Gloria breathed gently and picked her Incubator back up, heading back towards the restaurant.

The guard standing out front seemed to recognize her, as he shouted at the crowd for them to clear a way for Gloria. They eventually did, and Gloria was able to rush up the small staircase and into the restaurant.

Across the room was Chairman Elijah Rose and Oleana, speaking to Victor. Behind him was the pink-coated boy from earlier. As Gloria neared the group, she could hear parts of their conversation.

"Mr. Rose, I've gathered several more Wishing Stars and Dy—." Victor cleared his throat. "I've obtained Wishing Stars for you."

Chairman Rose nodded. "Yes, thank you Victor."

The other boy stepped forward. "I've worked even harder, and I have for you many more Wish—."

The Chairman held his hand up. "Excuse me for interrupting, but what exactly was your name again?"

The teen stiffened. "It's- It's Bede, Sir."

_Bede. . . So that's his name._

"Ah, right." Elijah grabbed a cup from the table he was seated and took a sip. "Go on then and gather more. I need to talk to Victor."

Bede gave a nod and turned, almost bumping into Gloria in his leave. He opened his mouth, most likely to shout at her for being in his way, but he quickly closed it and hurried past her without a word.

Mixed feelings rose up in Gloria; anger, annoyance, and a bit of sadness and pity at the sight she had just seen. All those thoughts vanished though, as she saw Victor smiling at her.

"Ah, Gloria," Elijah welcomed her. "Victor has told me that you have beaten Leader Nessa in your Gym Battle. Congratulations."

"Thank you." Gloria looked at Victor for a second.

"He tells me that you managed to defeat her with only two Pokémon. I must say, I'm impressed. Not only did you best her in a battle, which is already not an easy feat, but you did it with a Corvisquire and Zigzagoon alone." He leaned forward. "That's an accomplishment in itself. Especially with a Trainer as young as you are." His eyes narrowed at Gloria, making her begin to panic. "Tell me, Miss Shield, did you ever feel any sort of power in yourself when you were out there?"

"I. . ." Gloria began, but no words came out; her throat was dry. She took a step to Victor and clenched his arm for support. He glanced at her for a second and looked back to the Chairman.

"Mr. Rose, I don't think. . ." The teen began, but stopped as Elijah held his hand up.

"I understand that. And I think I know now, Miss Shield. Thank you for your help, and congrats on your victory." He sat back again and drank from his cup once more. 

Victor frowned. "Why don't you go on ahead to Motostoke?" He whispered to Gloria. "I'll talk to the Chairman."

Gloria eagerly complied, nodding. She wanted nothing more than to escape this room, which had suddenly become so nerve-wracking. "Bye, Victor." He nodded and turned his head back to Elijah as she exited the building.

⚔️ 🛡

Gloria entered the Galar Mines, noticing at first the smell of limestone and earth. It wasn't a bad smell; it was quite relaxing, but it made her realize just how used she had become to Hulbury's seaside smell.

She took a few steps forward, listening to a faint series of water dripping down into a pool. Multi-colored crystals lined the walls, giving off a faint light.

A few feet ahead, she noticed a tiny Wimpod let out a tiny cry of fear before scampering to shelter inside a pool of water. The ripples it made danced up and down, illuminating the cave and drawing a small Chewtle to the surface.

Gloria closed her eyes. _It's so peaceful here. . ._ With her right arm securely holding the Egg incubator, and extended her other arm and gently brushed against the walls with her fingers.

It was quiet in here, but that's what Gloria loved most. She loved the peaceful environments, with few wild Pokémon and loud noises. She continued walking, her boots crunching against the rocky ground.

She slowed down her pace as she noticed a Poké Ball, half-buried in mud, up ahead.

She blinked and sped up a little, finally reaching the spot where the Poké Ball lay. It was most definitely a Poké Ball; the button to open it was below the ground. There were a few scratches on the surface, and it wasn't as shiny as a normal Poké Ball. _Probably because it's been unnoticed here for so long. . ._

"What if there's a Pokémon inside it. . ?" Gloria muttered aloud to herself. "Its Trainer is probably worried and wondering what happened to it." She glanced around behind her for a second before reaching down to pick up the old Poké Ball.

"No!"

Gloria jerked her arm back, right as a creature rose up from the mud. Sharp, rusty pieces of metal clamped down, where her hand had been just half a second ago.

Gloria jumped back, knocking into something behind her. She hardly even noticed; her eyes were wide and her heart was thumping hard against her chest. "I-I. . ." She stuttered out, unable to put a coherent sentence together.

"Shhhh. Calm down." A voice spoke to her nearby. It sounded very familiar, but relaxed, unlike when she had seen him—

She looked down, seeing a pink-sleeved arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her away from the Stunfisk and against the person's chest. . .

She slowly turned her head around, already having a guess as to who had just saved her life. Even still, she couldn't stop herself from blinking a few times in disbelief at the person who was holding her against his chest. His violet eyes softened as he looked at her, lines of worry crossing his face. He looked so different than she had ever seen him before.

"B-Bede?"

Immediately he snapped back to the present, his features hardening back into the protective wall they were before. His gaze drifted to their close proximity, and he pulled his arm away from her, his face a deep crimson. "S-Sorry." He pulled his coat's collar up to cover his cheeks.

Gloria blinked, finally relaxed enough to make sense of what was happening. She took a breath and turned to face the floofy-haired teen. "It's. . . It's fine. Thank you for saving me. I would've certainly ended up losing an arm if you weren't here to stop me." She let out an embarrassed laugh, scratching her cheek with her free hand.

"Y-Yeah," he stuttered. He hesitated before glancing at the Egg incubator in her arm. "Is the Egg alright? I'd feel horrible if it broke."

Gloria looked at the Egg, not noticing any cracks or indentations on it. "Yep, it's fine. No need to worry." As soon as she finished speaking, the Egg began to shake, a faint glow coming from it. "Woah!" The brunette stepped close to Bede, to help him watch the Egg with her. Their arms were touching, and she failed to notice the blush that had made its way onto his cheeks.

Gloria hurried to open the incubator and gently picked the Egg up in her hands. It felt warm against her chilly fingers. She glanced to her blonde companion and grinned, offering the Egg to him. "Here, you hold it."

Bede stiffened, looking between her face and the Egg. "Aren't you. . . worried I might do something to it? I mean, we haven't exactly been on the best of terms in the past. . ."

Gloria tilted her head. "But you saved me just now. And I've noticed that you actually care about others." She gave a close-eyed smile. "Deep down, you're not actually a bad person; you're actually really nice. But you just don't want to admit it."

The older teen frowned. "Fine!" He snatched the Egg from her, although Gloria could see how carefully he took and held it. His features softened as he held the Egg and looked at it.

Gloria leaned in, mesmerized by her Egg and the light emitting from it. She froze as she heard Bede take a sharp breath of air. She turned her head to him, finding that his face was red. Worry rose up in Gloria and she immediately asked the only sensible question.

"Bede, are you sick? You don't look too well. . ."

"That is none of your concern!" Bede snapped, taking a small step away from her. Gloria was about to respond when a cracking sound made them both direct their attention to the Egg.

Fissures appeared on the surface, pieces of the Eggshell breaking away. Both Trainers watched in awe as it slowly cracked open, a magenta Pokémon appearing from it, still in the lower half of the Eggshell. It had the top of its Egg balanced on its head, and Gloria slowly took it off.

The Pokémon looked between the two of them, sticking its tiny tongue out. It had small, soft horns on its head and an electric bolt on the top of its head. It had violet eyes and a purple back half.

Gloria took a look at Bede, then let her gaze fall down to his magenta jacket. Her face lit up. "It looks just like you!"

"H-Huh?" Bede snapped his head to her. "It does not!"

She laughed. "Yes it does! You both have pink and purple on you."

Bede scowled. "It's not pink. . ." He grumbled.

Gloria ignored him and pulled out her phone, opening up the PokéDex app on it.

_Toxel, the Baby Pokémon_

_Type: Electric/Poison_

_"It stores Poison on an internal poison sac and secretes that poison through its skin. If you touch this Pokémon, a tingling sensation follows. It also manipulates the chemical makeup of its poison to produce electricity. The voltage is weak, but it can cause a tingling paralysis."  
_ ________

_Nickname: N/A_

_Level: 1_

_Gender: Male_

_Ability: Rattled_

_"Gentle" Nature_

Gloria smiled happily and tucked her phone back into her cardigan pocket. Then she reached towards the Toxel, her hands brushing against Bede's as she lifted the Pokémon up. The contact with the small Pokémon made her fingers feel a bit numb, but it wasn't too bad to handle. Almost immediately a small spark came from Toxel's cheeks and hit Gloria's wrist.

"I think we should call him Thunder. What do you think?" Gloria asked, holding Toxel close to herself and looking at Bede.

"'We?' Excuse me, what?" Bede blinked. "This is your own Pokémon! I shouldn't have any say in whatever you name it!"

Gloria sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm only joking. Seriously, Bede. Calm down." She muttered something else and pulled out her phone, her face lighting up almost immediately. "Well, Hop's texting me, so I gotta go." She ran past the magenta-coated boy, without saying a farewell. Thunder twisted in her arms and peered over her shoulder at Bede.

"Tox. . ." Thunder whined quietly, before Gloria carried him away from his vision of Bede.

Bede watched her go silently, his heart now starting to slow down. He could feel himself relax, and slowly let out a sigh of relief. He caught himself mid-sigh and froze. _She said she's going to Hop. . ._ A ping of annoyance rang in his mind, and he placed his hand against his forehead. _Why do I even care? It's not even like I know her name. . ._

He stopped and looked back at the way the Challenger had left. _Ugh. I must be going crazy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya!!!
> 
> Wow, I actually finished this chapter 30 minutes before midnight.... phew
> 
> Anyway I apologize for two things: 1. Not updating, and 2. Making the Chairman so creepy..... I didn't mean to do that, I promise.. my fingers just kinda slipped. 
> 
> (I can relate to Marnie, with her whole lack of sleep. Poor girl)
> 
> Anyway uhh.. I wanted to get this out at midnight today because uhh... well it's my birthday.. yey..
> 
> Enough of that though! Gloria hatches a shiny Toxel (and the person who gave it to her said it wouldn't be shiny! I love doing stuff like this)
> 
> What's your favorite Galar shiny?
> 
> I like shiny Snom, Applin, and Gossifleur. Galar Ponyta's Shiny is really good too in my opinion.


	15. Penny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise update, cause I can't wait until Friday-  
Hey you guys!! I am super sorry for the lack of updates and everything. I haven't touched this book in over a month, mostly because of lack of motivation and personal struggles.  
I'm feeling a lot better now, and am hoping to get back into writing this story again.  
As a thank you to everyone who's stayed with me through all this, I'm making this an extra long chapter. I hope you all enjoy!  
\- Zel

"Oh, hey! Gloria!"

The brunette's eyes lit up and a smile made its way onto her face. She quickened her pace, finally seeing her best friend.

Hop ran to her and hugged her tightly, only to wince as Gloria heard a snapping sound. She turned her head, finding Thunder sitting in the hood of her cardigan, tiny sparks coming from his cheeks.

Gloria smiled and took a step back from Hop. "Oh, yeah! My Egg finally hatched, and this little dude came from it!" Thunder stuck his tongue out and narrowed his eyes at Hop.

"It's. . . Cute." He rubbed his wrist, where Thunder had shocked him earlier. Suddenly his gaze brightened. "Wait, it's a Toxel, right? Why is it pink instead of purple. . ?"

Gloria shrugged. "Dunno. He's still adorable though, no matter what color he is." She began walking. "It's probably getting late; we should get going back to Motostoke for Kabu's Gym Battle."

"Right!" Hop hurried and caught up to her, the two continuing through the Mines.

"Oh, I nearly got eaten today. . ." Gloria began sheepishly after a few moments of silence.

"Wait, what?!" Hop looked at her in alarm.

"It's nothing really!" Gloria held up her hands. "And I'm fine now, aren't I?" She looked down, a gentle smile on her face. "Although, I wouldn't be if it weren't for him. . . I've been thinking about just. . . What if he wasn't there at that moment to stop me?"

Hop blinked in confusion, his mouth parting slightly in a reply. However, before he could make a sound, they heard stomps behind them on the cavern floor. Both turned around, already readying their Poké Balls.

"So, yer both friends of Princess Marnie, eh?" A woman asked them, wearing hot pink and black, with spikes on nearly every article of clothing she was wearing. Gloria gasped silently as she recognized her as someone from Team Yell.

"Do ya really think that just 'cause yer friends with her, we'll let ya continue yer Gym Challenge?" Another person stepped forward, his eyes narrowed. _Tony. . . _Gloria recognized him as the one who had challenged her in Motostoke's Budew Drop Inn. "It don't matter who ya are, or what yer relationship is with Marnie— we won't let her lose!"

Without warning, he threw out a Dusk Ball, his Linoone appearing from it in a wave of evil energy. He looked around, his long tongue hanging out of his mouth, before locking gazes with Gloria and smiling sinisterly. The woman beside Tony threw out a Vullaby. The small vulture squawked and waved her wings around in an attempt to lift herself off the ground.

"Looks like this is a battle we'll have to fight," Hop said quietly to Gloria. She nodded and sent out Penny, while Hop threw his Wooloo out in front of him. "You go for Linoone; I've got Vullaby."

"On it." Gloria smiled at her Zigzagoon. "Penny, use Pin Missile on Linoone!"

Hop commanded his Wooloo to use Rollout, while Tony and the woman ordered their 'Mons to use Quick Attack and Peck. 

Penny barked, several small missiles flying from her pelt and towards her opponent. The Linoone, however, was quicker, and managed to dodge the attack with his speed before crashing straight into Penny. She was pushed back by the power of his attack, and narrowed her eyes. Her lips curled back in a growl. 

"P-Penny?" Gloria blinked at her Pokémon in shock. Since when was Penny ever angry. . ? "Use—"

"Linoone, Bite!" The Linoone leapt forward, sinking his long, sharp fangs into Penny's thick fur. She let out a yelp of pain as his canines bit through her skin.

"Pin Missile!"

Before Tony or his Pokémon could react, missiles shot from Penny's dual-colored pelt and hit the Linoone five times. He let go of the Zigzagoon and staggered a bit, trying to shake off the pain from the super effective hit.

"Arghhh!" Tony growled. "Use Quick Attack!"

In a flash of light, Linoone charged straight towards Penny, knocking her down. She got right back up though. _Is it just me, or do her eyes look. . . darker. . ?_ Gloria didn't get a chance to answer that question, as Penny began jumping back and forth, her paws only staying on the ground for a second.

Linoone went in for another Quick Attack, but Penny managed to leap out of the way.

Gloria gasped. Of course! The Linoone may be quicker, but he could only move in a straight line, unlike Penny who moved in uneven zigzags.

"Penny!" At the sound of her name, the Zigzagoon stopped and looked at Gloria. "I need to to trust me. Okay, move in front of those stalagmites." Penny followed her gaze and towards the stalagmites. She turned back around and glared at the Linoone.

"Linoone, Quick Attack while it's cornered!" The Linoone darted towards Penny, his speed accelerating with every step. And just like Gloria had noticed, he didn't turn even the smallest bit.

She took a breath. "Penny, dodge it and use Headbutt!"

Right as the Linoone was about to reach her, she darted to the side and swiveled around in her paw to face him again. Linoone, with no time to slow down, crashed face-first into the stalagmite. He let out a whine before going limp as he fainted.

Penny froze.

Her eyes widened hearing his cries, and her ears folded back. "Zig. . ." She took a step back, then another, color returning to her eyes. Realization spread across her face and she cowered against the ground.

Gloria looked at her Pokémon sympathetically. "Penny." She ran to her, only half-noticing as Tony did the same with his Linoone. The Zigzagoon showed no emotion as she was scooped up into Gloria's arms. The brunette frowned, worried.

"Nira—!" Tony began, but froze as her Purrloin crumpled to the ground. He frowned. "Nira, we need to get outta here. These two'r too strong. Marnie can handle 'em though; they'll be easy XP for her."

Nira nodded in agreement. "Gotcha." She returned her Purrloin, as well as her Vullaby. "Let's go!" The two ran off in the direction they had come, leaving Hop and Gloria by themselves.

Hop breathed a sigh of relief, wiping a trickle of sweat from his forehead. "Man, that was amazing! Don't you agree Glor—"

She was holding Penny silently, gently rubbing her matted fur with her fingers. The Zigzagoon said nothing, and continued to gaze sadly at nothing.

Hop's smile vanished. He returned his Wooloo and walked over to his friend. "Is she. . . alright?"

"I don't know," Gloria told him, her voice hardly above a whisper. "She was doing just fine on her own, but then suddenly she became like. . . _this_."

Hop reached out and gently pressed the back of his hand to Penny's forehead. "We should get her to the Pokémon Center, just in case it's something serious. Nurse Joy'll know what to do."

Gloria nodded her agreement, grateful to have someone like Hop as her friend. "You're right. Let's go."

⚔️ 🛡

It was night when they exited the cave. And judging from the cool weather, it had been dark for quite a while. The moon was high up, only half full, but bright nonetheless. The stars were missing, and Gloria felt herself sink further into sadness. She missed being able to look up at the night sky; she and Hop had had a clear view of it every night back when they were kids. But now they could hardly ever see the stars.

"Come on, I see Motostoke up ahead." Hop quickened his pace.

Gloria hurried as well, a bit of hope returning at the sight of the industrial city. Penny had closed her eyes and fallen asleep in Gloria's arms. Gloria moved her so that she was laying on her chest, with her head on Gloria's shoulder. She placed her hands on the Pokémon and followed after Hop.

The two ran over a bridge, much shorter than the one on Route 5.

They finally reached the city, dim lights and sounds of metal greeting them. But Gloria didn't have time to marvel at being back here. She and Hop continued running, past the Stadium, past the Budew Drop Inn, before stopping at the Pokémon Center. Gloria entered.

"Hello, how may I—" The Nurse stopped as her gaze fell on Penny. She ran behind the counter and scooped Penny from Gloria's arms. "What happened?"

"Long story short, we were battling, and winning. . . And suddenly she just stopped and became like this." The teen's gaze clouded. "I don't know what's going on, and I'm really worried for her."

Nurse Joy nodded understandingly. "I'll check up on her. You two are welcome to wait here in the lobby until I'm done."

Gloria thanked her and sat down on the sofa, running her hand through her hair. "This is all my fault."

Hop sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer towards him. "It's not, Gloria. You didn't do anything wrong, and neither did Penny." He was quiet. "If I were to guess, I'd say it's something to do with her past."

"But how?" Gloria glanced at him. "She's always so cheerful and happy and adorable. I don't understand."

"What about before you met her?" Hop smiled sadly. "What if something happened and she was suddenly reminded of it?" Before Gloria could protest he went on. "Think about it, the brightest stars cast the darkest shadows."

Gloria looked at his face. His eyes were the same gold color that they always were, although they appeared. . . darker, and more sad. She closed her eyes and turned her head downwards. "Yeah."

They were silent for a minute, before Hop's yawn made Gloria glance back at him. "Sorry about that. . ."

"You should go get some sleep at the Inn. You don't have to be here, and you have to be rested for your match against Kabu," Gloria told him. She shifted slightly and moved his arm away from her.

"But—"

"Go on, Hop. It's my fault for keeping you up this late." She sighed. "And besides, Marnie's probably still waiting for us there anyway."

A flash of recognition spread across his face. "That's right!" He bit his lip and stood up. "I'll go and see her there then. I'll explain everything too."

The brunette nodded. "Alright."

Hop neared the door to leave, but then stopped and turned back to Gloria. "Oh, and Glo, it's not your fault for me wanting to help. We're. . . best friends, and I'd do anything to help you."

The ghost of a smile brushed across Gloria's lips as Hop left. "Thank you."

Several minutes went by, and she could hear the booming sound of thunder, and the pelt of rain against the roof of the Center. _That was sudden_. She gazed out the window, seeing rain fall from the sky, almost sideways because of the heavy winds.

"Miss, I've looked over your Zigzagoon, and I've healed up her injuries."

Gloria leapt to her feet as Nurse Joy spoke. She ran to her. "You did?" She looked around frantically. "Wait. . . where's Penny?"

Nurse Joy avoided eye contact. "She was reminded of something that happened in her past. She won't say anything, so that's as much as I could get from her."

Gloria nodded, only to freeze a second later. "Wait, you can understand her?"

"I can't, but he can." She motioned towards a blue feline peeking from behind the counter. He had turquoise eyes and a patch of white fur on the top of his head. His ears were folded, and his paws were a snowy white color.

"Meow?" The Pokémon asked, tilting his head at Gloria.

"This is my partner, Meowstic. He can communicate telepathically with me," Nurse Joy explained. "That's how I was able to understand what was going on with your Zigzagoon."

The teen nodded. "Can I see her?"

Nurse Joy nodded. "Of course. But I'd suggest having her stay here for the night." She led Gloria to the back rooms, into a hallway. She opened a door, and there Gloria saw Penny, curled up on one of the beds. "I'll be outside if you need anything."

With Nurse Joy gone, Gloria went in and sat next to Penny. "Hey, girl." She gently lifted her up and set her on her lap. "You did amazing in that fight back there. You've grown so much since I first caught you."

"Zig?" Penny asked quietly, blinking at Gloria, as if to say 'really?'

"Yeah! I was really impressed with how strong you were. And you took those attacks like they were nothing!" She pet Penny's long fur.

"Zigzag." Penny gave a tiny smile. Then she looked back down again. "Zag. . ."

_"I'm sorry."_

Gloria whirled around, finding Meowstic standing right beside her, his irises glowing. She instinctively shifted away from his unblinking stare, wondering how and when he got there.

"Don't apologize," she told Penny. "It's not your fault. And besides, we won the battle, all because of you!" Penny's ears perked up slightly, only to droop back down a few seconds later. Gloria scratched behind Penny's ears, hoping to help her feel better.

_"It's probably best if we give her some time alone,"_ Meowstic communicated to Gloria, his paw touching her arm gently.

Gloria sighed. "Alright. Good night, Penny. I hope you feel better soon."

Penny looked up. "Zig." She sniffed Gloria's pockets, and reached up to open a Poké Ball.

"Squire!" Valiant cried out at his release, stretching his wings out. He turned around, noticing Penny. Almost immediately his eyes widened, as if he knew what was going on. He hopped over to her side and draped his wing over her back.

Their Trainer stood up. "I'll be back tomorrow." She left through the door, Meowstic following behind her. As she went through the lobby, Meowstic ran back towards Nurse Joy, his eyes back to their normal color.

"Meow! Meow!" He said, latching onto her leg. She smiled and pet his head.

Gloria, meanwhile, plopped back down on the sofa. There was really nowhere else to go, especially during this horrible thunderstorm.

She looked out of the windows, thinking about Penny and Valiant. _Val's really become like an older sibling to her. He's like her teacher and best friend. . ._

Gloria sighed and closed her eyes, tiredness and fatigue plaguing her every movement and thought. She was exhausted. Did she really challenge Nessa earlier that day? It felt like so much longer.

Her eyes snapped awake when the Pokémon Center doors slid open, a person running in. His hair and clothes were drenched, making it nearly impossible to figure out how old he was or if Gloria knew him. It didn't help that it was so dark outside.

The person didn't look at Gloria and walked up to the counter, handing Nurse Joy a couple Great Balls.

"Goodness, you're soaked!" Nurse Joy exclaimed. "Would you like me to get you a towel to dry off?"

He hesitated. ". . . Yes, that would be nice."

Nurse Joy took his Pokémon and went to the back, returning with a white towel, which she handed to him. "It may take a little while to heal up your Pokémon, especially in this storm. You're welcome to stay here though and rest."

The person grunted a thanks, and began walking towards the sofa where Gloria was seated.

Their eyes met.

Gloria froze at the violet glare from the boy. Only one person had those color eyes.

"What are you doing here?!" The two shouted at the same time. Bede was staring at Gloria in disbelief.

"I came here to heal my Pokémon; same as you. . . I think," Gloria responded, glancing at him. Her gaze traveled upwards, and she suddenly fought the urge to laugh.

Bede's hair was hanging straight down, having been washed by the rain. His curls were gone, instead becoming straight streaks of platinum and brown. Water still dripped from his bangs, which had been pushed to the side, behind his ear.

"What?" He barked, making Gloria burst into a bout of laughter. 

"Y-you! Your hair!" She pointed, still snickering. "You look like a girl!"

"I do not!" Bede snapped, though he quickly rubbed his hair with the towel, until it fell in wavy strands around his face. He huffed and sat on the sofa, as far away from Gloria as he could get. 

Once Gloria had finally calmed down, she leaned back and looked back at Bede. "So, why _are_ you here?"

He didn't answer right away. "To heal up my Pokémon. We got into a tough fight earlier and. . . Hattrem and Duosion were seriously hurt from it."

Gloria noticed his eyes soften as he spoke about his Pokémon. _He must really care about Pokémon_, she thought, remembering how he had saved Tuff earlier.

"So it sounds like Hatenna evolved," Gloria began, hoping to ease the tension that had risen between them. "That's good, right?"

Bede grunted. "She's definitely a lot calmer than she was back when she was a Hatenna." He cleared his throat. "So anyway, how's Th— I mean Toxel?"

The brunette beamed. "Thunder's good! He still has a long way to go, but I'm sure that he'll become stronger really soon!"

"That's good." He put his hands behind his head and leaned back, sighing.

"Say," Gloria sat up. "Who were you fighting, and why did you do it in the middle of a thunderstorm?" As if to enunciate her question, thunder crashed nearby, making Gloria flinch.

"It doesn't matter." Bede turned his head away from her. "But the person who challenged me knew what he was doing; he had the obvious advantage in this kind of weather." His jaw clenched and his hands folded into fists at the memory of the fight.

The younger girl frowned at his response. "Who? Telllll meeeee. I want to know who you battled, so that I can challenge him too and see for myself just how strong he is."

A sparkle of amusement lit in Bede's violet gaze, though only for a second. "Hmph. You're acting like a child, you know. Learn to grow up, and then maybe I'll tell you who I battled."

Gloria pouted. "That's not nice. . ." She thought for a second. "So are you going to challenge Kabu tomorrow?" 

Bede spared a glance at his gold watch, hanging loosely around his right wrist. "It _is_ tomorrow, idiot."

"Huh? It is?" Bede revealed his watch, confirming that the time was 12:04. "Woah. It's really late. . . Or early, however you look at it."

Bede didn't reply, and turned to where Nurse Joy has gone with his Pokémon. "What's taking so long? It usually never takes this long to heal up Pokémon, and I don't know how much longer I can put up with being with _you_."

Gloria ignored his last comment. "Well, she did say that it might take a bit longer, because of the thunderstorm. And if the power goes out, she won't be able to do anything—"

As if on cue, the lights above flickered, before turning off, leaving everything in complete darkness.

"You're not afraid of the dark, are you?" Bede muttered, hearing Gloria's surprised squeak.

"N-no, of course not. It just startled me, that's all." She paused. "I'm not scared of anything."

"Uh-huh. Sure," he said in a voice that implied that he didn't believe her at all.

A light shone behind them, and they both turned around to watch as Nurse Joy walked to them, holding a bright flashlight in her hand. "I am so, terribly sorry about this. Unfortunately I cannot heal up your Pokémon right now, but they're all safe. I suggest you two stay here for the night, at least until I can heal them fully. Please let me know if there's anything I can get for you two."

"Alright. Thanks, Nurse Joy!" Gloria told her. She yawned once the nurse had left, exhaustion catching up to her.

"Great," the teen beside her growled. "I'm stuck here with you. It's bad enough running into you here, but now I have to spend the whole night with you too."

"Aw, cheer up Bedey, it's not that bad. And it's like a sleepover pretty much. Hop and I used to have them all the time when we were kids."

"Well I'm not Hop, am I? And we're not kids anymore!" Bede lashed out. "And _don't_ call me 'Bedey'. I hate that name." Gloria heard him turning over, and could imagine him pouting with his arms crossed. "Seriously, learn to grow up. Quit being so naïve, or else someone's going to take advantage of that."

Gloria blinked, turning as well so her back was to him. What if he was right? _No, of course he's not! He doesn't know me at all! I'm not naïve; I simply only see the good in people._

Hours seemed to pass of silence. Gloria shivered, rubbing her hands along her arms.

"Bede?" She whispered, checking to see if he was awake.

She heard a sigh, followed by "What?"

"I'm cold." That was only partially true; she was mostly thinking about what he had said to her. About how she was naïve. It made her a bit afraid and worried, although she knew it was most likely not true.

"Well then tell Nurse Joy or something. I'm trying to sleep."

"But I don't want to bother her."

"So you choose to bother me instead? What do you even expect me to do?" He shifted slightly.

"I. . . don't know. I'm sorry for annoying you." She closed her eyes. "Good night."

Bede was silent, except for the sound of movement. And then, something soft and warm draped over Gloria. She stifled a gasp.

Her fingers brushed against the fabric, revealing that it was his magenta jacket that he wore everywhere. It was still warm, and mostly dry from the downpour outside. "Bede?"

"Sh-shut up. You said you were cold." He sat back down in his spot from before, as far away from her as he could get.

Gloria smiled, closing her eyes once more. "Thank you. . ."

She drifted to sleep, a smile on her face.

⚔️ 🛡

When Gloria woke up, she noticed that Bede's coat was missing, as well as Bede himself. She frowned for a second before sighing, stretching her arms above her head in a long stretch. The rain had stopped thankfully, and she could hear Rookidee and Pidove chirping outside the Pokémon Center.

_Wait_.

She leapt to her feet, running around the sofa. However, as she turned the corner, she tripped on something soft, and fell hard on the ground.

Behind her, Meowstic hissed, his eyes narrowed in agitation and his fur messed up around the top of his head. He gave a final growl before licking his paw and running it through the fur along his head.

"Sorry," Gloria apologized quickly to him. She silently thanked Arceus that he hadn't thought to extract his claws to scratch her a time or two. After all, she did trip on his head.

She stumbled back up and went through to where Nurse Joy had gone the night before. The Pokémon nurse looked at her as she entered the hallway.

"Oh, good morning! Your friend left at dawn, when I was finally able to heal up his Pokémon."

_Figures_. Gloria nodded and went to Penny's room. "Can I. . ?"

"Of course! I checked in on her earlier, and she seems to be doing a lot better now! Your Corvisquire really seemed to help her." Nurse Joy smiled and opened the door for her, revealing Penny running around on the ground, chasing Valiant around the small room.

As soon as Penny heard the door open, she looked back, giving happy barks as she ran towards her Trainer. Gloria smiled and scooped her up, lifting her into the air.

"Zig!" Penny squirmed in Gloria's grasp, too excited and full of energy to calm down.

Gloria pulled her Zigzagoon close, resting her chin on Penny's head. "I'm so glad you're alright." Penny shifted away slightly, beaming at Gloria.

Nurse Joy laughed softly. "Looks like she's all better now. You're welcome to take her back, though I suggest taking it easy in battles for the time being."

Gloria nodded. "Thanks, Nurse Joy!" She bowed her head and turned to leave, Valiant flying behind her. She took a few steps before Valiant decided to land on her shoulder, his sharp talons digging through her cardigan and dress, cutting her skin.

"Ow ow ow!" Gloria reached and swatted her bird off of her. "Val, your talons _hurt_." She hesitated for a second. "And also, you're too heavy now for me to carry you."

"Corvi!" Valiant squawked indignantly, swiping her face with his wing before finally leaping off of her shoulder.

Gloria laughed. "Come on. Let's go over to the Budew Drop Inn and meet up with Hop and Marnie."

The sky outside was clear and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. There were a few puddles along the ground that hadn't yet been dried up by the sun. It was a perfect day for traveling. 

She was about to reach the Inn when somebody tapped her left shoulder. "Huh?" She turned around, finding nobody there. What's—"

She heard snickering, and whirled back around to find Victor smirking at her from her right side. He grinned at her and poked her head. "You're so easy to tease."

"Hey!" Gloria brushed his hand away, a blush on her face. "That's only because I didn't expect you to be here, that's all."

"Sure," Victor replied. He looked to the side and reached out to open the Budew Inn door. "Oh, and you're cute when you blush."

Gloria's face heated up even more. "Victor!" He winked at her and held open the door for her.

"After you."

She rolled her eyes but entered the Inn, missing Valiant's glare at the other Trainer. It was much darker inside, and almost immediately she saw Marnie, looking up at a statue of the ancient Galarian hero from long ago.

"Ah, Marnie!" Victor greeted, walking towards the girl.

She whirled around, Cinnamon in her arms. "V-Victor?" She blinked a few times. "I didn't expect ta see ya here again. . ." She took a step back.

"But you've missed me, haven't you?" He took her left hand in his, and she immediately pulled it back. "You're still adorable."

Marnie's eyes narrowed, but Gloria stepped forward before she could yell at the boy. "Marnie, have you seen Hop around?"

The ravenette took a breath and turned away. "He's already gone off ta challenge Kabu. I'm goin' ta challenge him too sometime in the next hour." She thought for a quick moment. "Apparently Nessa's Gym took out a lotta Challengers, so the rest of the Gym Battles should be quicker than they were back at Milo and Nessa's Gyms."

Gloria nodded. "Cool. Thanks." An idea came to her. "Oh, Marnie. Would it be alright if I battled you, just for extra practice? We could both benefit from it, and it could help get you ready for Kabu's battle."

"Well. . ." Marnie glanced down.

"Come on, it'll be fun! Just a quick, 1 v 1 practice battle." Gloria grinned. "Please?"

The younger girl sighed, bringing her eyes back to her friend. "Alright. I accept your challenge."

"Great!" Gloria cheered and quickly returned Valiant, who was still angrily eyeing Victor.

She led the group outside and moved so that there was a bit of distance between her and Marnie. Victor stood off to the side, in between them.

"I guess I'll be referee," he said aloud. "Good luck both of you." He winked in Gloria's direction, making Butterfrees flutter in her stomach.

"Cinnamon, let's show 'em what we can do!" Marnie called out, her Morpeko running in front of her. The hamster chirped and smiled, her cheeks lighting up with sparks of electricity. 

Gloria closed her eyes. _Let's do this_. She set Penny down on the ground and brought out a Poké Ball. "Tuff, I'm counting on you!" The fire rabbit's eyes lit up as she gazed around herself, grateful to finally be in another battle. She smirked and punched the air a few times, readying herself for the fight.

"And. . . Go!" Victor announced.

"Cinnamon, Aura Wheel!"

"Double Kick!"

A wheel of lightning surrounded Cinnamon, red and blue in color. She jumped into it and ran towards Tuff. Meanwhile, Tuff was running towards her. She leapt up into the air and brought her heel back, preparing to swing forward and strike the Morpeko. 

Cinnamon's Aura Wheel hit Tuff first, and she winced in pain, though still managed to bring her other foot around. She hit Cinnamon, knocking her out of the Wheel in a Critical Hit. Cinnamon blinked, her eyes becoming narrow.

"Peeko!" She shouted, rising back to her paws. Her fur began growing darker in color, changing from shades of brown and yellow to black and purple.

"Scor!" Tuff blinked, startled. She was not expecting _that_.

"Tuff, get out of there!" Gloria called out as Marnie commanded another Aura Wheel. 

Tuff was hit head-on and slid across the sandy gravel. Cinnamon, pleased with her damage to Tuff, smiled and transformed back to her normal colors.

"Double Kick!" Tuff leapt back up and kicked Cinnamon twice, sending the Morpeko away. 

Marnie was about to give out another command, but someone interrupted her.

"Marnie!" Everyone looked back, seeing Hop running towards them. He stopped and rested his hands on his knees. "Your battle. . . With Kabu. . ."

She gasped. "Oh!" She gazed back at Gloria. "I'll battle ya again sometime!"

"Yep! And good luck with your Gym battle!" Gloria called out to her, waving as Marnie left.

A wave of silence fell between the three teens, Hop frowning at Victor while he smiled calmly.

"So umm. . ." Gloria cleared her throat. "What now?" She asked, hoping to ease the tension that had suddenly risen between them.

Hop was the first to look at her. "I'm going to go heal up my Pokémon. You should probably get to Kabu's Gym and wait for your turn to challenge him." He gave her a warm and friendly smile.

"Oh, alright then. . ." Gloria returned Penny, choosing to have Tuff walk beside her. The snowy white rabbit beamed, her eyes lighting up. 

As Gloria followed where Marnie had left for Kabu's Gym, a low chuckle erupted from Victor's mouth.

"You really think you can win?" He walked towards Hop, smirking. "Give me a break. She sees you as a brother, not what _you_ see _her_ as."

"I—" Hop's response caught in his throat.

"But whatever. You two would make a good couple. In fact, I'm rooting for you; I'd rather you have her than that disgusting brat." Victor laughed. "But until then, stay out of my way, hear me?" He stepped forward, towering over Hop, who shrunk down in his presence. "It'll all make sense eventually. But until then, _don't_ disrupt my time with her." And with that, he walked off, leaving Hop staring at him scared and confused.

Following his gaze was a gray feline, hidden behind a stone fountain. He scratched his long, wiry fur, his amber irises locking onto the brunette. _That's him. I'm sure of it._

_Victor._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya again....
> 
> Wow, over 5,000 words here... hard to believe I only wrote it in two days. 
> 
> I really hope you guys liked this longer chapter, and forgive me for taking so long to work on this again. 
> 
> Umm so yeah, I don't really know what else to say. 
> 
> What do you think of Victor and the strange cat at the end. . ?
> 
> Oh yeah, now I remember what I was gonna say.. 
> 
> I'm super sorry for being mean to Hop! Please forgive me!!


	16. Fire Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna be a pretty quick chapter, since I've been getting bad headaches these past few days, and can't really write much because of them..

“. . . Wait, so you're telling me I have to catch _those_?"

Small bugs, ranging from only a few inches to over two feet long crawled around in the grass around Gloria. They were crimson, and had a tiny flame around their mouths.

"Scor," Tuff breathed with disdain, her gaze traveling around herself and looking at the insects in disgust.

"Sizzli!" One of the insects snuck up from behind, crawling onto the rabbit's leg.

"Bunny!" Tuff cried out, running around in an effort to shake the bug off. "Scorbunscorbunscorbun—"

"Quick, use Double Kick!" At the command, Tuff immediately kicked the Sizzlipede off of her other leg, before slamming her other foot down onto it. Gloria threw a Poké Ball and it was caught.

"Great. One down, two more to go!" Gloria handed Sizzlipede's Poké Ball to the Gym organizer. After all, she had no use for a Sizzlipede on her Team.

"Bun. . ." Tuff's eats drooped, unpleased at the news of having to battle at least two more Sizzlipedes; she just wanted to leave this bug-infested land and battle the Gym Leader.

"Hey, at least it's better than having to herd Wooloo while being chased or trying to get through a water maze," Gloria told her, remembering Milo's and Nessa's Gym trials.

"Scorbun," Tuff muttered, dribbling a pebble on her feet and knees before kicking it straight at a Sizzlipede. Gloria smiled and threw a Poké Ball, catching the bug. Only one more to go. . .

Their final Sizzlipede was caught soon after, meaning Gloria had completed the trial.

She took a breath in the hallway leading onto the pitch, trying to calm her nerves. "Okay, so Tuff, I'm going to lead off with you, since Kabu's a Fire-Type specialist." Tuff nodded, grinning at the thought of more battling.

"Ohmygosh I'm so nervous." She was still a bit worried about having Penny battle, and Thunder was too inexperienced to be of any help on the field. That left only Tuff and Valiant.

She took a breath and pulled out her phone, still waiting for the announcer to call out her name. And she needed something to distract herself from the nervousness she felt rising inside her; might as well refresh herself on Tuff's moveset. "Double Kick, Flame Charge, Quick Attack and Ember. Okay, so we'll begin with—" She stiffened as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's best to calm down before a match. A clear head is better than one that's cluttered with thoughts." Kabu spoke in a serious voice, though his eyes were kind. "Milo and Nessa already warned me about how tough you are as an opponent." His gaze traveled to her Dynamax Band. "I'd suggest Dynamaxing your Corvisquire when the time comes for it. Oh, and when Dynamaxing your Pokémon, their movesets change slightly as well. The move you'd want to use is 'Max Airstream.'" He patted her shoulder. "Good luck."

"Th-thanks. . ." Gloria muttered, watching as he trotted out onto the field. She glanced back at Tuff and shrugged before following the Gym Leader. _He seems. . . nice._

The two left to opposite sides of the field, the audience cheering and chanting their names. And Gloria had to admit, it _did_ give her a small sense of pride to hear people chanting for her name to win.

"Let the match between Kabu Akagi and Gloria Shield. . . _Begin_!"

"Tuff, let's go!" Gloria threw her arm out in front of her, Tuff sprinting ahead. The Scorbunny leaped up into the air, doing a complete flip before landing back on her paws.

"Bun!" Tuff grinned, waiting for Kabu to send out his own Pokémon.

Kabu smiled. "Ninetales, show her our fiery passion!" The elegant fox gracefully landed on the hard soil, her ruby gaze locking onto Tuff's scarlet one. "Will-O-Wisp!"

Instantly Ninetales leaped into the air, her nine tails arching above her head. "Niiiine!" Her eyes lit up with a sort of purple aura, as tiny flames from her went towards Tuff.

Gloria was so transfixed on Ninetales's movements that she failed to give Tuff a command. They both flinched as the flames entered Tuff's fur, making a burn along her arms.

"Tuff, Quick Attack!" Gloria shouted the first thought that came to her.

Tuff darted towards the larger fox, jumping to deliver her attack. However, Ninetales was faster, and swiftly evaded her moves.

Gloria grit her teeth together as Kabu spoke up. "There's no way to touch Ninetales; she's too fast for your Scorbunny."

The brunette's eyes lit up suddenly as an idea came to her. If Tuff was too slow now, perhaps she could do with a little speed boost. . .

"Flame Charge!"

Tuff cloaked herself in flame, charging straight towards Ninetales. Ninetales dodged her, and Tuff skidded across the ground, hopping on her feet, faster than before. She winced slightly, as her sudden movements were hurting the spot where she had been burned.

_I'm sorry Tuff. It's only for a little longer, now._ "Flame Charge!" She called out again.

Once more, Ninetales evaded Tuff. The fox's lips drew back in a snarl. 

"Hit them with a Quick Attack!"

"Dodge it with another Flame Charge!"

Ninetales darted towards Tuff, missing her by only seconds. Tuff had run around Ninetales, surrounding herself with fire. She smiled through the pain from the burn, hopping from foot to foot.

Gloria let her gaze travel downwards slightly, seeing small embers fall from Tuff's paws. She matched her partner's expression, knowing exactly what to do now.

"Flame Charge, but run around Ninetales!"

Tuff grinned and took off running around Ninetales. She was moving too quickly for the canine to get a good view of exactly where she was.

Kabu could only blink in realization at what was going on. "Get out of there!"

It was too late; flames surrounded Ninetales, trapping her in the vortex. The fire had come from Tuff's paws, having been heated up to extreme temperatures from her running before.

"Double Kick!" Gloria slammed her fist onto her other palm, her eyes lighting up.

Tuff leaped above the flames, towards Ninetales, who was still looking at the flames in confusion. The Scorbunny's feet crashed down onto Ninetales's face, leaving red burn marks as Ninetales fell onto the ground.

"Ninetales is unable to battle! Leader Kabu, please send out your next Pokémon!"

While Kabu was returning his Pokémon and readying another one, Tuff raced back to Gloria, her eyes alight from the battle.

Gloria laughed. "You seemed like you're all fired up, am I right?"

"Scor!" Tuff called out, extending her arm into the air in excitement.

The brunette watched her partner's enthusiasm with a smile. "Do you think you can still battle, even with your burn?"

"Bun, bun-nee." She waved her arm around as if to say "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Gloria nodded, standing up straight once more as Kabu threw out his second Pokémon. This one was only a couple of feet tall, and was orange in color. He had a gray shell, made of molten magma, which had plumes of hot smoke erupt from it. Almost immediately, Gloria was met with a wave of heat, emanating from the fire-type.

"Torrrrkoal!" The Pokémon called out at his release.

"Careful," Gloria quietly warned Tuff, wiping her forehead. Tuff nodded at her in understanding.

"Start with Stealth Rock," Kabu instructed his Torkoal. He responded by kneeling down and sending pieces of his shell towards Gloria's side of the field. Lava covered his backside afterwards, cooling down and filling in the spots where he had lost his shell.

"Flame Charge!" 

Kabu frowned. "We're not falling for that trick again. Torkoal, Earthquake!"

As Tuff raced around Torkoal, he lifted his front legs, before slamming them into the ground. Tremors erupted around the field, the ground shaking.

Gloria was thrown to the ground, the earth shifting underneath her feet. She looked back up, only to see Tuff struggling to get up from the super-effective move.

"Body Press!" Kabu didn't even give Tuff or Gloria a chance to recover as he shouted his next move.

"No!" Gloria called out. Torkoal jumped up and let gravity do its thing as he fell towards Tuff.

And then, right at the last second, Tuff threw her head upwards, the Headbutt attack hitting Torkoal's underside. He was thrown back, landing on his shell. His legs flailed helplessly in the air, unable to right himself again.

Tuff, meanwhile, lay unconscious in the center of the field.

"Both Scorbunny and Torkoal are currently unable to use any more moves. Please send out your next Pokémon!"

Gloria shakily stood up, returning Tuff back into her Poké Ball. "Thank you," she whispered. "You've dome amazing so far." She placed the Poké Ball into her pocket and took out Valiant's. "Go, Vali—" She froze.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a bright pink Pokémon crawling in front of her. His paws stepped onto the spiky stones, making him sit down and cry from the pain.

"Th-Thunder?!" Gloria stared at the tiny Pokémon. She bit her lip in embarrassment, looking at Kabu's next Pokémon: a large Arcanine, towering over him.

Oh no. 

Gloria frantically tried to grab Toxel's Poké Ball to return him, but Kabu was quicker than she.

"This will be easy. Arcanine, Bite!" The huge fire dog charged towards Thunder, his fangs lighting up and growing in size.

Thunder wailed, throwing his arms everywhere around him. A surge of power hit Arcanine, making him stumble and fall onto the ground.

The entire stadium went silent at Toxel's Endeavor move. Did that tiny Baby Pokémon seriously just do _that_?

"Tox!" Thunder stood onto his back paws and waved his arms around, sending a blast of poison acid at Arcanine. The Legendary got back to his huge paws and shook his fur, ridding his mane of the Acid attack.

"Get rid of it with Bite!"

Arcanine clamped his teeth onto Toxel, fainting him instantly.

Gloria sighed and returned Thunder, noticing that Arcanine was backing away, wiping his tongue with his paws, trying to rid himself of the taste of Thunder's poisonous skin. He finally gave up and closed his mouth, only to freeze as a bit of paralysis ran through his body.

Her gaze softened for a second, feeling a bit of pity at the Arcanine's pain. _This is no time to feel sorry._ She took a breath before throwing Valiant's Poké Ball in front of herself.

"Corvi!" He squawked, stretching his powerful wings and taking flight. He silently sharpened his talons against one another in a Hone Claws move.

Arcanine, meanwhile, took off towards the avian and pushed his back paws off of the ground, preparing to Bite in midair.

"Dodge it and use Pluck!"

Valiant twisted around, narrowly missing Arcanine's attack. He righted himself and slammed his long, pointed beak down into Arcanine, causing a whine of pain to come from the canine as he crashed into the earth with a hard _thud_. 

"Arcanine!" Kabu sounded worried for his partner. "Are you alright?"

The fiery dog stood back up, shaking his thick mane. "Arc!" He barked, letting his Trainer know that he was fine.

"Okay then, Flame Wheel!"

Arcanine circled himself in fire and took off running to Valiant. The bird clapped his wings, avoiding the worst of the attack. However, a bit of the flames managed to reach up and brush against his feathers. "Corv!"

"Now use Bite!"

With Valiant now unable to quickly fly away, Arcanine bit down on the Corvisquire's feathered body.

"No!" Gloria screeched. She could barely watch as her Pokémon was held in the dog's tough jaws. "Val, get out of there!" _Do something please!_

Valiant craned his neck around, his beak lighting up. In a last-ditch effort to get free, he rammed his beak into Arcanine's face several times.

Arcanine let out a roar of pain and opened his maw, Valiant finally free. He shook his body free of the blood that had escaped, as Arcanine fell to the ground once more. The canine spasmed for a second as the effects of paralysis took place.

"Finish it off with Pluck!" 

Valiant tested his wings, and flew up. Once he was a few feet above ground, he drilled his beak deep into Arcanine's mane, managing to injure his soft neck.

"Arca. . ." Arcanine closed his eyes and went still. 

"Arcanine is unable to battle!" The announcer looked once more to Kabu. "Please send out your next and final Pokémon."

Kabu was silent for a few seconds, before finally returning his Pokémon into his Ultra Ball. He took a deep breath. "Not many have managed to defeat Arcanine like you have, even in all of my years as Gym Leader." He laughed softly. "It seems this year though, the Challengers are really stepping up their game. I've already lost to two others today before you, Gloria."

Gloria sprayed a bit of Potion across Valiant, momentarily closing his wounds and providing at least a bit of ease to his pain. She looked up at her opponent, smiling. "Those must've been my two best friends, Hop and Marnie!”

He nodded at her. "Yes. . ." And then suddenly his demeanor changed as his eyes narrowed and a grin spread across his face. "Now, all of this was just exposition to the real thing. Just because your friends won against me doesn't mean that I'll go any easier on you— I'm only just getting fired up!"

Gloria could only stare wordlessly as Kabu pulled out a final Ultra Ball. He let out a breath, his Dynamax Band glowing and enlarging the Ball in size. His eyes closed and he was still, before opening his eyes once more, flames of energy and adrenaline dancing in them as he threw his Dynamaxed Ball into the air behind him.

The Ball burst open, a Centiskorch appearing from it. Though, as he grew in size, his form began to change as well. He became longer, and more snakelike, with his flames becoming more intense and stretching out for several meters.

"Skooooorrrrrchh!" The huge Pokémon called out, roaring into the sky and towering over everyone.

_It. . . It kinda reminds me of Leon's Charizard in his battle with Raihan. ._ . Gloria thought for a moment, looking at the huge centipede. She frowned, realizing that Kabu had yet to give his titan a command. _Then I guess we'll go first!_

"Val!" She called to her Corvisquire, getting to his attention. "Ready to do this?" She held out his Poké Ball. He tilted his head, not understanding at first, but then his eyes lit up.

The avian nodded at her. "Cor!"

Gloria took a deep breath and returned him back to his Poké Ball. She focused all her energy into her right wrist, where her Dynamax Band rested. _Kabu had told me to Dynamax Valiant. . . Well here we go_. . . Her Band warmed as her energy was transferred into it. It sparked and lit up, Dynamax Energy leaving her wrist and moving to Valiant's Poké Ball. It grew, being both heavy and lightweight at the same time as Gloria exhaled and threw it behind her.

The Ball opened up, revealing Valiant in all his power and glory. He flapped his wings and stared at his opponent at the other end of the field.

The crowd's chants were hardly audible as Gloria and Valiant locked gazes. The two nodded to each other, as if to say "we've got this."

Gloria turned back around to face Kabu, and closed her eyes, remembering what he had told her. "Val— use Max Airstream!"

He flapped his wings, sending a tornado of wind straight towards the Centiskorch. The insect took the attack, but was already on low health.

"Max Ooze, Centiskorch!" Kabu finally commanded.

Centiskorch moved around his Trainer and waved his thousands of arms around. Purple poison secreted from his underside, forming a big wave that was headed straight towards Gloria and Valiant.

Valiant swooped down, extending his wings in an effort to protect Gloria. It was no use though, as a red, protective shield formed around Gloria. Valiant squawked in pain as the poison seeped into his body.

_Oh no._

"Valiant!" He looked down at her as she spoke his name. "Go for another Max Airstream!"

He nodded and fired another blast of wind at Centiskorch.

"Max Guard!"

A barrier formed around Centiskorch, completely blocking the super effective attack. Gloria and Valiant froze, realizing what this meant.

"Finish them with G-Max Centriferno!" Kabu shouted, his eyes alight with passion.

Neither Gloria nor Valiant could react before a beam of fire shot at Valiant. He let out a roar of pain as he tumbled to the earth, shrinking in size. He landed with a hard _thump._

"No!" Gloria ran into the field, ignoring Centiskorch's cry as he reverted to his normal size. The brunette knelt down at her partner's side, seeing burns and patches of poison all over him. She held back tears, hating seeing her Pokémon end up like this. _I am a horrible Trainer. . . My Pokémon should never have to go through this. . ._

She slowly returned Valiant and returned to her spot on the field, readying her final partner's Poké Ball.

"You okay, Gloria?" Kabu asked her.

"I'm fine." She winced slightly at how tart her voice sounded. Even though she was doubting herself and her abilities, it doesn't mean that she should go and take it out on others, especially a Gym Leader. She sighed, throwing Penny's Poké Ball. "Penny, Quick Attack!"

The moment her front paws hit the ground, she took off running towards Centiskorch.

"Dodge it, Centiskorch! And use Wrap!"

The insect expertly evaded Penny's move, and wrapped himself tightly around her, slowly constructing and tightening his grasp on her. She squirmed and tried to free herself from him. Already her energy must be pretty low. . .

"Pin Missile and Bite, let's go!"

At Gloria's command, Penny fired tiny needles into the air, circling Centiskorch. He lifted his head and watched them, distracted. Penny took this opportunity to clamp her jaws down onto the centipede, right as the Pin Missiles made contact with him.

"Centi!" Centiskorch called out, before falling limp onto the ground. Penny crawled out and away from him, exhausted. She slowly made her way to her Trainer and lied down.

"Kabu's Final Pokémon, Centiskorch, is defeated! Which means that challenger Gloria Shield is the winner!"

_We won._

"We won. . ." The words still had yet to fully sink in. Then her face brightened. "We did it! We won!" She could hardly believe it. It was such a close battle, and she was so sure that she would have lost to Kabu.

Gloria jumped up and down excitedly, picking up Penny. "You did awesome!" She exclaimed as she hugged the Zigzagoon.

"Zig!" Penny smiled at her, proud to finally be getting better and more consistent at battling.

Gloria walked to the center of the field, meeting up with Kabu. He smiled down at her and held out his hand for a handshake. "That was an amazing battle, Miss Gloria. I must say, your competitive attitude and quick thinking reminds me a lot of someone from back home. . ." He trailed off, before looking back at her and handing her his League Card, as well as the Fire Badge. "Your next challenge is in Stow-On-Side. I recommend going through the Wild Area until Hammerlocke, and then traveling until you reach the town."

"Thank you." Gloria nodded and smiled at him.

"Anytime." He stepped back. "Oh, and tomorrow Milo, Nessa, and I are planning to gather up the remaining Challengers and wish you all luck on your journeys. You should stay here in Motostoke until then."

"Alright, thanks!"

The two nodded once more and left to their own exits in the sides of the field. Gloria returned Penny and placed her newest Gym Badge into the metal ring. It seemed that the Fire Badge sat in between the Grass and Water ones, connecting the three together.

_His battle was the hardest one yet, and I barely managed to win_. She sighed. _I'll need to train up everyone if I want to even have a chance at going up against the Stow-On-Side Leader, whomever that may be. . ._

She exited the Gym, already planning up a strategy for what to do once she got into the Wild Area.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaand sudden ending..
> 
> Sorry y'all for this.. I just am so tired and cannot bring myself to write really anything else for this chapter. 
> 
> Also, Tuff is terrified of bugs, and hates them so much. Who else feels the same?
> 
> Uhmmmm so next chapter, Gloria will catch a new Team Member. Any ideas on what it could be..?
> 
> And I don't really know when the next chapter will be. Hopefully, next Friday, but with my headaches and everything else, I don't want to make any promises. 
> 
> Oh, and this is completely random, but I finally completed the Galar Dex and have the Shiny Charm. Yay!!


	17. Visions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for the events that occur in this chapter.... But there is a reason for all of them.

"Hop! Marnie!" Gloria called out to her two closest friends. She ran towards them, smiling. 

The two were in a small group of about twenty Challengers standing at the edge of Motostoke. Everyone was waiting for the Gym Leaders to arrive and give them a speech, or whatever Kabu wanted to talk about. 

"Gloria!" Hop's face brightened, and he ran to meet her, Marnie following close behind. "Do you have any idea what the Gym Leaders are going to say?"

"Not a clue." Gloria laughed. "Kabu told me it was going to be basically a farewell wishing us all the best on our journeys." She craned her neck and looked around at the crowd. "Hey, where're Bede and Victor?"

Hop blinked. "Oh, I haven't seen them. Maybe they left already. . ?" He shifted slightly, seemingly uncomfortable.

The brunette pondered this for a moment. "I guess, or maybe Victor overslept again." She recalled how he had missed the Opening Ceremony because he had overslept.

"Yeah, maybe. . ." The boy quickly turned to Marnie. "So, any ideas on what you're going to do once you're out in the Wild Area?"

"Yes." She lifted her head ever so slowly to meet his gaze. "I'll train with Cinnamon and everyone else. Whoever I battle in Stow-On-Side won't be a problem as long as I—"

"Wait, what do you mean 'whoever' you battle?" Gloria tilted her head.

Her purple-haired friend sighed. "Glo, Stow-On-Side has two Leaders. Same with Circhester. I still don't quite know though if we get to choose the Leader we battle, or if they're randomly picked. . ."

"Oh!" Marnie's eyes lit up, as if she had the answer to his idea. Just then, though, Kabu, Nessa, and Milo stride towards the group of challengers.

"All of you Challengers were strong enough to defeat not only one of the Gym Leaders, but all three of us. Congratulations, all of you." Kabu smiled at the group.

"Aye, for this many of you to defeat Kabu, Nessa, and I is truly an accomplishment," Milo spoke up, his smile as large as ever.

Nessa bowed her head, nodding. "The many of you have so much potential in your futures. Whether you act upon that potential is completely up to you. I wish you all the best of luck in your future battles."

"Aye, same here! I look forward to seeing what all of you become."

Kabu glanced back at his two companions for a second before turning back to the group. "I'd suggest going through the Wild Area northeast of here. From there you can travel to Hammerlocke and Stow-On-Side, where your next Gym Battle will take place against either Leader Bea or Allister."

The crowd began murmuring quietly to one another, talking about the dual-Leaders, and who they hoped to fight.

Hop leaned close to Gloria and whispered in her ear, "Who do you want to go against?"

She thought for a moment. "I don't know. . . Bea seems really cool, so. . . her I guess."

Her friend nodded. "She is! Her battles against Lee are always—"

A sharp sound sounded through the air, the chatter immediately becoming silent as they looked at the three Gym Leaders. Milo quickly put his hand back at his side and glanced sheepishly at Kabu, obviously embarrassed to have caused such a loud whistle so suddenly.

Kabu sighed. "Thank you, Milo. The rest of you, be careful going out to Hammerlocke; there's thick fog everywhere on the way. That is all. Good luck, all of you." He turned to leave, Milo and Nessa following behind him.

"Woohoo! Let's go!" Without warning, Hop grabbed Gloria's hand and took off towards the entrance to the city.

"Hop, wait!" Gloria glanced back, looking for Marnie, though the younger girl was hidden in the crowd behind them. She frowned, feeling a bit bad for leaving her friend behind, but Hop was still pulling her along. She eventually gave up and let herself be brought to the entrance of Motostoke, the city gate right in front of them.

Hop finally let her go and grinned, stretching his arms above his head. "You okay, Glo?" He asked, glancing at her worried expression.

"I'm fine," she told him quickly. "So, how are you feeling about battling the next Gyms..?"

"I feel great!" Hop put his hands into his jacket pockets and led the way through the gate. "I can finally show the world what I'm made of! Now they can see me as not just Lee's shadow, but my own person." His smile widened. "Now Buddy and I are actually one step closer to our dream of defeating my big bro and taking his Champion title."

Gloria laughed. "What about Nori?" She remembered the name he had given to his energetic little monkey.

"Him too!" They walked down the stairs and onto the grass of the Wild Area. "Oh, I didn't tell you that he evolved, did I?"

"He did?" Gloria smiled. "That's awesome! You'll have to show him off in a battle sometime."

Her best friend nodded. "Yep, I'm already planning on it! In fact, my whole Team has already become so much stronger since last time we battled. So maybe once we reach Hammerlocke, we can—"

"So, you're the Champion's younger brother?"

The two spun around, seeing none other than Bede standing there glaring at both of them. Hop narrowed his eyes. "Yeah. . . What of it?"

Bede's violet gaze flitted to Gloria and back. "I can't believe someone like you is related to the great Champion. Honestly, it's a bit disappointing."

Hop stepped forward. "Shut up, Mr. Pretty Boy. As if you know anything about strength."

"Perhaps. . ." Bede turned to the side and spun a Poké Ball on his fingertip. "But you don't really seem to understand it either." He caught the Poké Ball and leaned forward. "Seriously? How would your 'great big brother' feel about you taking his name in the mud?" Hop was silent, so he continued. "All you do is boast about how you're the Champion's younger brother. To tell you the truth, no one cares. I'm fact, you're just making the Champion look bad. I feel sorry for him being related to such an arrogant child."

Hop's hands clenched into fists. "Oh, and you are _so much _better, aren’t you?"

"I worked hard to get where I am today!" Bede snapped. "You have no idea what I've had to put up with. Unlike you, who expects to have everything handed to you just because you're related to the Champion." He took a breath and glared at the other Trainer. "So I want to put you in your place and show to everyone just how pathetic you really are."

"Hop. . ." Gloria began, but the boy ignored her attempts to get him to calm down.

"Fine, since I'm in such a good mood I accept your challenge." He looked back to Gloria. "Go ahead and head to Hammerlocke. I'll meet up with you in no time, once I'm finished defeating this jerk."

Gloria frowned, her gaze shifting between the two. "Alright. . . Good luck, Hop. I'll see you in a few hours."

He nodded, forcing a smile at her. "Yep! Bye, Glo."

She hesitated before nodding and turning away. She didn't know why exactly she felt so nervous; after all, Hop was strong, and fully capable of beating Bede in a Pokémon battle. 

She shook her head and walked along a river, finally reaching a bridge to cross it.

Kabu was right; it was very foggy out in the open areas of the Wild Area. It was so bad that it was nearly impossible to see twenty feet ahead.

Gloria continued, shivering the tiniest bit as the fog swirled around her, getting deeper and thicker each step. She tightened her cardigan and continued on her way.

She could hear the cries of Pokémon around, but they weren't close enough to be seen in the fog. She kept going, noticing how a line of trees began surrounding her on either side.

It got quiet.

"What's going on. . ?" She whispered to herself, stopping and gripping Tuff's Poké Ball. She covered her mouth in an attempt to quiet her breathing and slowly turned around to find out where she was. She was met instead with hard amber eyes with a crimson glow. They belonged to a beast, standing far off from her, and yet she could still see it.

The monster let out a low growl, and without thinking, Gloria spun around and tore through the trees. She ran as fast as she could, trying to put enough distance between her and that. . . thing, whatever it was.

Twigs snapped and leaves crunched behind her as the creature gave chase. A flash of crimson, and it appeared right before Gloria immediately. She froze, eyes quickly scanning the beast before her.

Ruby fur, covered in scars and wounds, coated the creature. A sapphire crest blowed gently in an unseen wind as the creature locked gazes with the girl. Her breathing stopped as she stared at the beast. In his eyes she could see a story of struggles and battles barely won.

"Wh-what are you—?" She breathed, refusing to take her eyes off the creature.

He moved his focus to something behind her, ignoring her questions.

"Tsaaa!"

"What?!" Gloria whirled around, seeing a tall Grass-Type charging right at her. "What do I—" She quickly turned back around, for some reason expecting the creature to save her, like in all movies. But he was gone; in fact, the whole forest had disappeared, revealing the empty expanse of a prairie and small desert.

The Tsareena drew closer, and leapt into the sky, her long legs aimed right at the brunette.

"Tuff—" she began, blindly gripping her Poké Ball in her panic.

"Arcanine, Ninetales— Flamethrower!" In a powerful combination of attacks, Tsareena fell to the ground, covered in burns. She weakly stood up, only to narrow her eyes at Gloria and walk off with her head high, despite her slight limp. "Gloria, are you okay?"

Ever so slowly the girl turned around, not quite sure what just happened. She was surprised when she saw Victor running towards her, Brook and an Orbeetle following him. "Victor?"

He slowed down and returned his two Fire-Types. "You're not hurt, are you?" He asked Gloria, quickly looking over her for any visible injuries.

"I'm fine. . ." She took a step back and laughed, embarrassed. "Thanks for saving me, haha. I don't know what would've happened if you weren't here."

Victor frowned, not amused at all. "Were you not paying attention? If I had come here a second later, you could be dead! Or at the very least, seriously hurt." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You can't die, Gloria. I wouldn't be able to do anything if you weren't safe. . ."

"I. . ." A hint of a blush made its way onto Gloria's cheeks. He cared about her. . . "Thank you."

"Yeah," he replied, placing his hands into his pockets. "As long as you're okay, that's all that matters right now." Brook let out a low rumble, and Victor cleared his throat. "Hey, where's your friend? Isn't he always with you?"

"Oh, Hop?" Gloria looked away. "Last I saw him, he was out by Motostoke battling Bede. He said he'd meet up with me over in Hammerlocke once he won."

"I see. . ." Victor nodded slowly and glanced back at Gloria, a smile on his face. "Well I have to go now. I am a bit curious to see just how much your friend can defeat Bede. Maybe if I'm lucky, I might be able to see the end of their battle in time."

"How are you going to get there though. . ?" Gloria questioned, tilting her head.

"Orbeetle here can teleport me all around. He's been with me for a while, and his Psychic powers are stronger in the fog." He smiled at his floating red insect. "And as for you, Gloria." He looked at her again. "You're about halfway to Hammerlocke. Just keep going north, and you'll get there in no time. Though I would keep your best Pokémon out with you, just in case there's any more trouble like with Tsareena. And besides, this is a good time to get to train up before your next Gym Battle."

Gloria nodded at him, agreeing. "Right. Thanks, Victor!"

He waved at her. "No prob. Just call me anytime." He returned Brook, and in an instant he and Orbeetle vanished with a flash of light.

Gloria sighed and opened Tuff's Poké Ball, releasing the fiery rabbit. _It probably won't hurt to let the rest out, just for training, if nothing else. ._ . She smiled and released the rest of her Party. Thunder immediately curled up in the hood of her cardigan, while Valiant stretched his wings up ahead.

"Zig!" Penny greeted Tuff, grinning at the Fire-Type.

"Bun," Tuff hissed, crossing her arms and turning away from both Penny and Gloria.

Gloria frowned. "Tuff? What's wrong?" She slowly reached for her, but as her fingers brushed against Tuff's snowy fur, the rabbit whirled around and hit Gloria's hand away. The girl stared at her starter, shock all too present on her face. "Tuff. . ."

The Scorbunny slowly looked at her, before turning and running ahead without warning.

"Tuff!" Gloria called out, quickly losing sight of her. She hurriedly looked to her Corvisquire. "Val, try looking for her from the sky. But be careful about flying in the fog!" Valiant squawked and flew off in the direction Tuff had gone. Gloria then turned to Penny, noticing her drooping ears. She gently lifted her up. "Don't worry. It's not your fault," she whispered, before running off after Tuff.

⚔️ 🛡

The fog only got worse each minute that passed. Normally Gloria would expect it to dissipate as the sun rose, but the opposite seemed to occur. By now it was past noon, and still there was no sign of Tuff or Valiant.

"This is hopeless. . ." Gloria muttered, stopping at the shore of a huge lake. At this point Hop's going to get to Hammerlocke before me. She groaned. Why would Tuff even leave like that to begin with? It's not like I hurt her or anything. . . Her mind flashed to the look Tuff had back at Kabu's Gym. That look of desperation and. . . betrayal.

A strike of orange flashed her vision, and she suddenly gasped. "Oh my Arceus!" Quickly she covered her mouth with a hand, and looked down. She knew why Tuff was so upset. "She's jealous. . . She's worried that I'm replacing her. . . But I'm not!" She set Penny back onto the ground and ran her hands through her hair. "Why can't she understand? I'm just trying to give everyone a chance to fight."

Penny, meanwhile, sniffed the air around them. She blinked, before tensing up. "Goon!"

"Huh— Penny!" Gloria barely had enough time to call her name before her Zigzagoon zigzagged away quickly. "Penny!" She tried to chase her, only to slip on the ground.

"Tox!" Thunder growled, annoyed at having been woken up by Gloria's rough fall.

"Oww. . ." Gloria slowly crawled onto her knees, rubbing her arms. Nearly all of her Poké Balls were scattered around the ground around her, and there were even a few that had ended up in the water. "This day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" She grunted sarcastically as tears began to well up in her eyes. "What am I supposed to do now?! My three best Pokémon are gone, and I don't—"

The sound of rushing water met her ears, getting louder every second. She looked out at the lake, only to stop as a bright scarlet fin broke through the water's surface. A powerful stream of water propelled it forward from its tail.

"Ah-!" Gloria darted away from the water, landing on her elbow again and wincing. An all-too fresh memory of Tsareena entered her mind. The Barraskewda, however, wasn't deterred from her retreat towards land and continued racing towards her. . .

Only to ram into one of her Poké Balls in the water.

The girl stared at the Poké Ball, half-waiting for it to open up and release the fish to attack her. No such thing occurred; it simply floated at the surface of the water.

Slowly, Gloria reached for it, confirming the capture. "I. . . caught it." She wasn't too excited about this one. After all, it did just try to basically kill her.

"Corvi!" She flinched at the loud cry, only to see Valiant flying towards her quickly.

"Val!" Her mood lowered even more as she saw the expression on his face. "Where are they?"

He pointed with a wing up ahead, and Gloria could see several of his feathers were missing.

Gloria took a breath and nodded. She couldn't be scared; her Pokémon needed her. "Thanks. Get the Poké Balls back into my bag, please," she told him, glancing quickly at the scattered mess of them from when she fell. "Also take care of Toxel please." She picked the tiny Pokémon up from her hoodie and placed him onto her bag, which she had as on the ground. "I'll go get Tuff and Penny."

She took off running towards where Valiant had pointed, kicking up mud with each step she took. Soon she could hear her Pokémon's cries of battle and sped up.

"Gyraaaaa!"

There! She could see them. . . Tuff was attacking a Gyrados blindly, her attacks doing hardly anything. Her fur was soaked and bruised and a few Bite marks covered her skin. Meanwhile Penny was just trying to protect herself with Pin Missile attacks when the Gyrados got too close.

"Tuff!" Gloria cried out, seeing quickly that this was a losing battle. If Tuff didn't stop now, she could be— She couldn't bring herself to finish her thought.

Tuff glanced at her and frowned, before attacking the Gyrados again with Double Kick.

Gyrados roared, apparently tired of having to battle these two. He charged up a ball of light in front of himself.

_Hyper Beam!_ "Tuff, Penny!" Gloria's voiced cracked as she called out to them. She wasn't close enough to save them. Oh, why was she so slow? "Get out of there!"

Penny quickly threw a clump of mud at the Gyrados, diverting its attention to her. And then, with a final cry of annoyance, Gyrados released the Hyper Beam attack.

Flashes of color exploded right where Penny had been. Gloria stopped and covered her face with her arms, the bright light too much to handle. When she finally regained her vision, she found nothing. The place where Penny had just been was now charred black.

"No. . ." A tear fell down Gloria's cheek. "No. . ."

Gyrados looked around for any sign of Tuff, only to turn back around and begin swimming towards the lake's center.

"Ra-_boot!_"

"Li! Linoone!"

Gloria snapped her head up. Through her tears, she could just make out a black-and-white creature ram into Gyrados's back, and a grayish-orange creature race around it, delivering powerful Double Kicks all over its body.

Gyrados let out a roar of pain and dove underwater, retreating into the lake. The two creatures landed back on the ground, breathing heavily and covered in scratches.

Gloria wipes her tears away, hardly believing her eyes. "T-Tuff? Penny?" At the sound of their names, the Linoone and Raboot looked towards Gloria. A look of relief flashed across their faces as she ran towards them and hugged them, careful not to touch their wounds. "You're okay! I can't believe it. . . You're both alright."

⚔️ 🛡

Gloria arrived at the Hammerlocke Gate, her hair a mess and clothes all muddied. Her four- no, five- Pokémon were safely in their Poké Balls in her bag.

"Badges, Miss?" A guard asked, already sounding impatient despite having her arrive less than five seconds ago.

"Right." She fished out her Badge Ring and showed it to him. He nodded and stepped aside to let her pass. She didn't even take a single step before hearing an all-too familiar voice.

"Oh, so you're here already? What happened to you, did you get locked in a barn?"

Gloria clenched her fists. "Shut up Bede. I don't want to have to deal with you right now."

"Where's your little friend? Is he not here yet?" He asked innocently, ignoring her statement. "Oh, wait. I forgot that he won't be coming, not with how horribly I beat him. Honestly, he had it coming from the start, with how cocky he was—"

"I said shut up!" Gloria whirled around, her face twisted in anger. "You have no right to talk about Hop like that!" She stared into his violet gaze. "He didn't even do anything to you!" She noticed a bruise on his cheek and chin, but was too angry to ask what happened yet.

"Of course he did something to me. He annoyed me, got in my way. I simply put him in his place, where he belongs." He showed the guard his Badge Ring and strode past Gloria. "Don't expect to be hearing from him anytime soon. He still needs time to think about what I told him, after all."

Gloria grabbed his arm and spun him around so he was facing her. "I swear, if you hurt him—"

"Calm down. I didn't hurt him. At least, not psychically." He looked away from her, trying to hide his bruises.

"Oh, so you let him attack you, and did nothing to 'defend' yourself? Is that right? Pathetic." Gloria took a step back and glared at the older teen.

Bede froze and slowly reached up to touch his bruised cheeks. He glanced down for a second. "I'm sorry, Gloria. I really am. But this had to be done."

"Shut _up!_" She walked up to him and stared at him, her eyes glassy. "I don't want to hear your excuses, because what you did is inexcusable." Her lips quivered. "Even after everything I've tried to do, you're still the same person you were when we met. In fact, you're worse! Ever since I've met you my life has just been going downhill. I. . ."

"You wish you never met me?" Bede finished for her. "If I could change the past I would. But. . ." His jaw tightened. "But I don't regret meeting you, even if you hate me."

Gloria could only stare as he ran up the steps to Hammerlocke without another word. Once he was gone she turned her attention to the guard. "You didn't do anything to stop him?!"

"Not my job, Miss. and as long as you two weren't physically fighting I didn't want to get involved."

Gloria sighed and pulled out her phone, calling Hop as she made her way into Hammerlocke. He didn't answer. She tried again, only to get the same result. She made her way to a Pokémon Center, sending him a text asking if he was alright, before putting her phone away.

Everything else seemed like a blur as she gave Nurse Joy her Pokémon and went to her room for the night.

She lied on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

_I'm sorry._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp............
> 
> Uhh I'm not even going to say anything here. I'm super sorry for this chapter! I was nearly crying while writing it, but it had to be done. And I just wanted to get it done and out of the way, so I did most of this in only a day....
> 
> Uhmmmm anyway since Gloria caught an unpopular Barraskewda here, what's your favorite "unpopular" Pokémon in Galar?


	18. Sand

Gloria walked outside of the Pokémon Center with her Raboot following close behind. Neither one made a sound as they walked through Hammerlocke to the west.

Despite it being nearly noon, dark clouds scattered the sky, with the promise of rain on the way. Tuff wrinkled her nose at the thought and buried her paws deeper into the tuft of fur on her belly, impersonating a sweater's pockets. Her ears were down and she had a bored expression on her face, though occasionally her eyes would glance at her Trainer for a second.

Gloria, meanwhile, was staring at a shiny Poké Ball in her hand, her face unreadable. Tuff wished she knew what was inside it; she had noticed it the day before in the Wild Area, but Gloria had never revealed what was inside it. If the rabbit had to guess though, she'd say it was probably not a Pokémon Gloria was happy about, due to the fact that she tensed every time she look at it.

"Oh hey! Gloria!"

Tuff and Gloria each looked up to see Sonia waving at them. Behind her were Rose and Raihan, the former ignoring the latter's nudges as he spoke to her.

Gloria relaxed slightly at the sight of the adults. "Hi. . ." She made her way over to them, forcing a smile as she put her Poké Ball into a pocket. 

"So how are you?" Rose asked the brunette, stepping away from Raihan. She glanced down at Tuff and smiled. "I see your Scorbunny evolved."

Gloria nodded. "Yeah, she and Penny evolved yesterday battling a Gyrados."

The redhead turned away. "I had a Scorbunny, back on my journey." She smiled. "He's not here though. . ."

The teen tilted her head. "What do you mean? Did you-" she thought for a second. "Did you leave him back in Sinnoh?"

The three exchanged glances, and it was Sonia who spoke up. "Anyway, Gloria. Have you found out anything more on Dynamax Energy?"

Gloria shook her head. "No. . ?"

"What about Galar's history?"

Again Gloria replied, "I haven't, sorry."

"Don't worry." Sonia clapped her hands and spun in a circle, looking around. "I wonder where Leon is, he said he'd be here by now. . ."

Raihan rolled his eyes, finally speaking up. "Psh, you know Lee. He probably fell asleep or something on his Charizard and is over in Kalos or whatever."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sonia's phone buzzed as she received a text message. Her eyes narrowed as she read it. "He's somehow somewhere snowy. Either Circhester or Crown Tundra. . ." She sighed and turned to the fanged Gym Leader.

"What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "I suppose you want be to find him?" He sighed, already knowing the answer. He threw out a Flygon and climbed onto its back. "Fine, you guys have permission to enter the Vault while I go save your Prince Charming."

"Thank you," Sonia replied, only to freeze as what he said finally hit her. "Wait, Raihan! He's not—!" But Raihan was already up in the sky, trying to hold in his laughter. "Idiot. . ." She muttered before turning back to Gloria. "I am really sorry about all that." A sigh escaped her and her arms fell to her sides in exasperation. "If you'd like, you can come with us to the Vault."

Gloria looked down at Tuff, who was tapping her leg impatiently. "Thank you, but I'm going to have to say no. I still need to get to Stow-On-Side and battle the Leader there."

Sonia nodded, then turned to her sister. "That's fine. Ready, Rosie?"

"Of course." Rose nodded and turned to lead the way to the Vault.

Sonia followed but turned back. "Good luck on your battle! And I'll let you know if I ever find any new information!" She called to Gloria before entering the guarded Vault.

"Well. . ." Gloria blinked and looked once more at her Starter. "Ready to go over onto Stow-On-Side?"

"Ra. . ." Tuff looked to the side, trying to hide the impatient twinkle in her eyes about _finally_ leaving this boring city. The upcoming battle was only an added treat.

The two took no more than three steps before someone called Gloria's name once more. Tuff narrowed her eyes, recognizing the voice immediately.

Gloria turned around, smiling as she saw who it was. "Oh, Victor!"

Victor waved to her and came over, Brook following. Both he and Tuff glanced at each other and spoke in low voices only they could understand. Neither Trainer seemed to notice though, as they talked to one another.

"So I watched the battle yesterday with Hop and Bede. . ." Victor began, looking to the side and rubbing the back of his head. "I've gotta say, I was surprised by the outcome. I was hoping Hop would win." 

Gloria's smile faded as she gazed at her feet. "I saw Bede yesterday. . ." She lifted her eyes back up to Victor. "Hey, did you see Hop attack Bede or anything like that?" She couldn't get the image of Bede's bruised cheek out of her mind, much less the fact that it didn't seem like Hop to hurt someone like that. Then again, he hadn't replied to any of her messages. . .

Victor tensed for a second. "No, I don't think I saw anything like that. After the fight, Hop just left back towards Motostoke without a word. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing really!" Gloria blurted out suddenly, not quite knowing why. Victor raised an eyebrow at her, and she quickly tried to change the subject. "So, are you heading over to Stow-On-Side for the Gym?"

Victor nodded slowly, starting to walk west in the direction of the rustic town. "Yes, I am. Is that where you're going too?"

"Yep!" Gloria called to their Pokémon to follow before catching up to the boy. "I'm hoping to battle Bea. What about you?"

"The other Leader is Ghost-Type, right?" Victor frowned without even waiting for an answer from Gloria. "Then I suppose I'll face Bea too." He glanced at Gloria, an awkward smile on his face. "I guess you could say I'm a bit afraid of ghosts."

"_Victor_? Afraid of _ghosts_?" Gloria laughed, hoping to lighten the mood and let him know that she was joking. "I never saw you as someone who was afraid of anything."

Victor stared straight ahead, the hint of a smile on his face. "Everyone's afraid of something, whether they know it or not. I'm also afraid of working tirelessly toward a goal, only to have it backfire on me at the last moment. . ."

The girl tilted her head at him. "Really? What are you. . ."

"The Gym Challenge," Victor answered for her quickly. "And also what will happen after that."

"Ah." Gloria nodded at his response; it seemed reasonable enough. If she had to admit, she was a little worried of the same thing. Once the Gym Challenge was all over, then what? There was only a slim chance that she could become the next Champion, and even then what would happen to everyone else? It sounded like Victor already had a plan for what might happen if he didn't make it to the end, but Hop and Marnie both seemed like they wanted to win as much as Gloria did. Would they be mad at her? No, they were her friends; they would understand. . . Right?

But what if they didn't? After all, Hop had completely ignored her ever since his loss against Bede. . .

Her mind drifted to the violet-eyed Trainer, remembering the hurt flash in his eyes as she threw insults at him. And for what? Hop was still ignoring her, and all Bede did was beat him in a battle (plus taunt him and all that. . .)

Gloria finally snapped out of her thoughts when a firm hand was placed on her shoulder. She started, looking up at Victor's dark brown eyes. 

"You okay?" He questioned. "You were murmuring stuff and dazing off."

"Sorry!" Gloria rubbed her head and sighed. "Hey, do you by any chance know where Bede might be? I. . . I want to apologize for something I said to him. . ."

Victor blinked, tilting his head. "No, I don't. Besides, I'm sure he's fine. I mean, he beat Hop in that battle; isn't that what he wanted?"

"I suppose. . ." Gloria still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more going on. After all, he didn't seem overly proud or boastful when she saw him the day before. In a way he almost seemed. . . defeated.

"I wouldn't worry about him too much," Victor interrupted her thoughts again, patting her back. "Besides, aren't you worried about Hop?"

"I am!" Gloria answered. "I'm just also thinking about Bede too."

Victor rolled his eyes, flashing her a smirk. "Don't. I have a feeling that you'll forget about him soon anyway."

Gloria froze, her hairs on end. "What do you mean?" _Does he know something I don't?_

Victor blinked, seemingly surprised by her alarm; maybe she was just freaking out over nothing. "Once the Challenge is over, you'll likely forget about everyone. The end of it's coming quickly, you know."

"Ah, right." Gloria let out a nervous laugh in an attempt to calm her nerves. What was she getting so freaked out about anyway?

"Come on, we're getting close to Route 6." Victor began walking ahead again, leading the small group to a desert area. There were no trees or people, only sand and rocks.

The group tried on the dry sand, the sound of their footsteps completely masked by the hot air.

Gloria looked up, finding the rainclouds from before pouring rain over Hammerlocke. There was no hint at anything else in the sky for miles.

"How long do you think it will take to get there?" Gloria asked quietly, already feeling the effects of the scorching sun.

Victor checked his phone. "Four hours, maybe five if we stop." He glanced at her, then at their Pokémon. "I think it'll be best if we rest for the rest of the day and try traveling at night. How does that sound?"

Gloria nodded. "That works for me."

"Great." Victor walked you the shade of a large boulder and sat down, his bag falling to the ground beside him. "If I had been thinking I would've bought more supplies from Hammerlocke and left at night," he said with a laugh as Gloria sat next to him. 

Tuff and Brook joined them, the latter sitting in between them in an effort to cool the Trainers with his cool skin.

Victor smiled at the effort but brought out Brook's Poké Ball anyway. "Sorry, Brook. It's a long way to the Pokécenter and I can't risk having you dry out from the sun." The water lizard was returned before he could even protest.

"Should I return Tuff?" Gloria asked, looking at her fire Starter. 

Victor thought for a moment. "She should be fine, as long as she stays here in the shade; she is Fire-Type after all." He pulled out a few water bottles and handed one to Gloria. "Here. And. . . Try to go to sleep if you can. It'll save your energy and strength for later."

"Thanks." Gloria opened the bottle and took several parched gulps of the delicious water. "Shouldn't we set up a tent though?"

"No," Victor answered. "It'll only trap more heat and it'll take too much time to set up." He took a sip of his own water and stood up. "You can stay here if you like, I'm going to go. . . Look for some Pokémon to catch."

"Alright. . ." Gloria watched as he walked away before turning to Tuff. "You alright?" Tuff huffed and looked away from her. Gloria sighed at her response and took another sip of her water. "Want some?" She offered it to the fire bunny as she started to take her cardigan off.

Tuff hesitated at first, but took the bottle and muttered a quiet "Raboo."

The brunette sighed, leaning back against the boulder. Her gray cardigan was rolled up in the sand beside her, and for once Gloria could feel the air hitting her bare arms. _Why must it be so hot?_

She closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep like Victor had suggested. She doubted she would though, since the heat was nearly too much to handle.

Beside her, Tuff finished the water and closed her eyes as well.

⚔️ 🛡

When Gloria opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the darkening sky. Tuff was held onto her, providing heat in the rapidly-declining temperatures.

She sat up, noticing Victor packing his belongings back into his bag. He looked up, hearing her stir, and smiled.

"You're awake. I thought I was going to have to wake you up."

"Couldn't sleep that well," Gloria told him, taking another water bottle and opening the cap. Once finished, she put her cardigan back on. She then noticed a creature on Victor's shoulders. "What's that?" she asked, pointing.

"Oh, her?" Victor looked to the creature and scratched "her" head. She was a light tan, almost sand colored, with brown and black diamonds across her long body. Her neck (or what could be perceived as a neck) was a dark green color with the same brown diamonds. "She's a Sandaconda. I found her while I was out earlier." The reptile was draped around Victor's shoulders and stuck a forked tongue out in Gloria's direction.

"Why?" Gloria couldn't help but wonder, walking towards the boy.

Victor shrugged. "Partly because I wanted to fill out my 'Dex, partly because I am lacking in a Ground-Type 'Mon, and partly because Sandacondas are excellent at storing heat— which we'll need by the way."

"Ah." The younger brunette looked to Tuff, who was just starting to wake up from her sleep. She turned back to Victor. "Ready?"

He nodded. "Let's go." He put his large bag around his shoulders and started walking forward, looking back to see if Gloria was following.

Tuff, still drowsy with sleep, was rubbing her eyes, only to tense as Gloria lifted her onto her shoulders in a bit of impatience. Gloria walked to Victor, finally setting Tuff down as the rabbit squirmed and chirped curses at her.

The four of them traveled along the barren sand, the day's light quickly fading away. Stars were beginning to paint the night sky and every so often they could see a Minior dart across the sky.

A crisp, dry wind passed by them, sending shivers across Gloria's body. Victor took notice and quickly offered her his Sandaconda, which she accepted.

"She's heavy," Gloria noted as she rubbed the snake's head. "Do you have a nickname for her?"

The question seemed to catch Victor by surprise, and he looked back at her with a confused face. "Well I don't really name my Pokémon. . . Brook's the only exception." He turned back forward again and waved his hand. "You can give her a name if you like though."

Gloria beamed and looked at the reptile across her neck. The Sandaconda's scales were smooth and warm, and bore a strong resemblance to the sand around them. . .

"Sandy." She smiled, liking the sound of that name. "Her name can be Sandy."

Victor laughed tensely. “It's a fitting name for her, that's for sure."

Gloria nodded and ran her hand across the newly-dubbed Sandy's scales, only pausing to watch as Tuff ran ahead of her and began glaring at Victor.

"Tuff, don't be rude," Gloria called to her Starter. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Victor. . ."

"It's fine." Victor didn't even look at her. "Let's just keep going and get to Stow-On-Side soon."

The girl flinched at his tone, but said nothing. She didn't want to annoy him any further. _I was talking too much. . . Now he's annoyed at me._

She and Sandy shared a glance and continued on in silence.

Suddenly Victor stopped, bringing everyone else to a halt. He looked around before whispering to Gloria, "Do you hear that?"

Gloria was about to open her mouth to ask 'hear what?' when a blast hit the sand right beside her. In her alarm, Sandy opened her mouth, spitting a stream of sand around them for cover.

Victor turned around quickly, his eyes widening. "Gloria— _Run!_" He grabbed her arm and started charging forward, Tuff following blindly.

Sand whipped around them, hitting their faces and stinging their eyes. While the sandstorm caused by Sandy was a great chance for cover, it was also a hinderance in their escape.

"What's going on?!" Gloria asked as another blast landed right ahead of them. She looked back, hoping to see a glimpse of their attacker.

"Yamask." Victor breathed his answer. "I had heard that this area was protected at night but I didn't think it was true—" He gasped as a Shadow Ball hit his side, knocking him to the ground. 

"Victor!" Gloria shouted his name and hurried towards him, but a Yamask threw another Shadow Ball in front of her, forcing her to stay back. On her shoulders, Sandy looked around urgently for the foes.

"Stop!" A weak voice called out, immediately ceasing the attack on the Trainers. Gloria turned around just in time to see a small figure emerging from the darkness. As the sandstorm died down, she was able to rub her eyes and see that they were actually a boy, seemingly a few years younger than she.

He had raven-black hair with a single strand sticking straight into the air. He had on a black sweatshirt and matching sweatpants. But perhaps the most surprising thing about him was the mask he wore, covering his face completely and leaving only room for his eyes and mouth.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" The boy demanded, his small frame outlined in moonlight.

"We're just trying to get to Stow-On-Side!" Gloria answered quickly, taking a step back.

The boy was silent for a second. "S-so you aren't here to. . . steal anything from the ruins?"

She shook her head quickly. "No! I didn't even know about any ruins! Please-" She looked to Victor. "Please just let us get through! I think he's hurt!"

The boy gasped and ran to Victor, a Yamask following him. He put a pale hand on the teen's head and checked the injury where his Yamask had hit him.

Victor's eyes shot open as the boy put pressure onto his wound. He searched around frantically before resting his gaze on the Yamask behind the boy. "Gah!" He tried to scoot away, only to wince and fall in pain.

Yamask tried to come closer, but the boy returned her before she could get to Victor. "'M sorry!" The boy told them in a quiet voice. "I didn't. . . mean to hurt you. . ."

Gloria said nothing to him and went to Victor's side. "Are you alright?"

"I'll live," he mumbled, looking to the boy. "Hey, why'd you attack us like that all of the sudden?"

The boy flinched. "I- I thought you was- were going to. . . steal from the ruins here. . ."

Victor frowned, glancing at his injury. "So you're the mysterious 'Ghost Child' I keep hearing rumors about?" The boy didn't answer so Victor went on, "I had been hearing stories- rumors, really- of a kid with Yamasks attacking everyone here at night. It's you, isn't it?"

The boy lowered his head. ". . . Yes. 'S me." His body shook and Gloria could hear a crying gasp coming from underneath his mask. "'M sorry! I thought you w-would try t-t-to steal from the ru-ins." He went quiet as Gloria rubbed his back in an effort to calm him down. "Y-y'see, lots of people try to take stuff from the ruins 'cause th-they're r-rare and valuable. . . I was only t-trying to help-p-p. . ."

"Don't cry," Victor told him, avoiding his gaze. "I'm still alive, aren't I? And I'm not angry _that much_. . ." He muttered the last part, but luckily the boy didn't seem to hear.

"Y-you aren't?" The boy watched Victor's nod of confirmation.

"We're sorry for causing all this trouble. It won't happen again," Gloria told the boy, going back to Victor and lifting him to his feet.

"W-wait!" The boy froze as both pairs of eyes were on him. "I-I can give you directions to Stow-On-Side. There's a Po-Pokémon Center there t-too."

The two returned their Pokémon and turned at him, Victor trying to mask his pain whilst Gloria looked ready to catch him if he fell.

"If y-you start heading n-north from here, you'll r-reach it in. . . twenty minutes. . ." He fumbled with his hands, staring down at his feet.

Victor nodded and left without another word. Gloria whispered a "thank you" before following him towards the town.

The boy turned away as the two were out of sight and opened his Yamask's Dusk Ball again. She gazed out in the direction of the two Trainers, her gaze blank.

"What's wrong?" The boy asked her, tilting his head at her expression. "Don't worry, he's fine. You didn't hurt him severely." He untied his mask and offered the Pokémon a small smile. "Let's go back to our spot and stand guard, okay?"

"Ya. . ." Yamask murmured before finally turning and floating in the direction of the ruins.

The boy followed her, unable to shake the feeling that she had more secrets than he knew about. Maybe she would tell him next Full Moon.

But for now, he would stand on watch with his Gengar and Yamask and other ghosts for any intruders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya, I just want to say that I am SUPER SORRY for the hiatus. I just couldn't find the time, energy, or motivation to write any of my books..
> 
> That being said, I am really proud of this chapter story-wise. Maybe school did teach me a thing or two about writing. 
> 
> Which Gym Leader do you think Gloria will battle next, Bea or Allister?
> 
> And what was with that Yamask............?


	19. Winning Failures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone is sad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, we're at that part of the story..

A day went by and Gloria was still in Stow-On-Side. It was a quiet place, free of worries or busy interactions. Many Ground- and Steel-Type Pokémon lived in the town, helping Trainers and offering assistance in market sales. 

Gloria paused in her walking around the quaint town when the ground in front of her shook. She blinked, watching as a Sandaconda poked her head out and turned around, meeting Gloria's gaze.

"Ssssssanda?" The snake asked, tilting her head.

The girl smiled at the reptile. "Sandy?"

"Ah, Gloria!" She lifted her head as she saw Victor running over to her. His injury from the Yamask had healed almost completely, even though it was only two nights ago he was hurt.

Victor gave her a smile. "I was walking around here and then Sandy ran off. . . I guess you found her?"

The younger Trainer laughed nervously. "Well, it's more like she found me. . ."

Victor nodded slowly, his expression changed to a more serious one. "Oh, Gloria?"

Gloria tilted her head. "Yeah?"

"I. . . think I saw Hop earlier today. He—"

Gloria stiffened. "Where?!" She demanded. "Where is he?"

The boy pointed towards the town entrance. "Over near the marketplace. I could be wrong though-" He stopped talking; Gloria had already ran off to search for her best friend. Victor sighed, shaking his head with a tiny smile. "She's so impulsive. . ." With that, he walked westward and to a staircase, leading up to a graffitied stone mural. He gazed up at it for several seconds before finally heading into the Stow-On-Side Gym to face the Gym Leader.

⚔️ 🛡

Gloria saw him. He was half-hidden in the shadows of a seller's tent, but his purple hair was unmistakable.

"Hop!"

He flinched at his name and turned around, unable to run away as Gloria tackled him into a hug from behind. "Glo. . .ria?"

She stepped back and looked up at him, positive that he wouldn't try to run off. "Why did you turn your phone off?" She sighed before he could answer and looked down. "I heard what happened the other day. . . I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to help."

"Don't be." Hop's voice sounded far away and empty. "I was the one that lost; you have no need to feel sorry." He turned away. "I feel like I've actually learned something, thanks to all this. . ." He went quiet. "You and Lee and Mar and everyone else keeps telling me that I'm a good Trainer and that I have a lot of potential. I truly believed that. . ."

"Hop. . ." Gloria began, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. She didn't like the tone of his voice.

Hop ignored her. "What if it was my Pokémon that were making me weak? I mean, there's no use training a weak Pokémon, is—"

"Stop saying that!" Gloria ignored the fact that people nearby were staring at them. "That's not true, and you know it. There is no such thing as a weak Trainer or Pokémon, because together they make each other strong."

Hop held her gaze, a void in his eyes. "Prove it then."

Gloria stepped back. "What?"

"Let's have a battle, three on three to determine all of this." He took out an Ultra Ball. "And you can't back down."

The brunette's heart fell. Why was he being like this? Did his battle with Bede really hurt him that much? Silently, she took out Thunder's Poké Ball and released the baby Poison-Type.

Hop didn't even seem to notice as he let out a dark blue bird, its feathers shiny and damp. "Cramorant, Pluck."

His opponent blinked in surprise at the sudden command. "Dodge it!" She told her Toxel, only to have him hit by the avian's large beak. Thunder responded by immediately letting out a bolt of lightning, stunning the bird before it fell to the ground.

Hop said nothing, worrying Gloria even more as he simply returned his Cramorant and let out a Silicobra, its sand-colored body resembling Sandy. "Dig."

"Return!" Gloria said quickly, returning Thunder to protect him from the super effective hit. She sent out Penny.

The Silicobra burst from the ground the moment Penny's paws hit the ground, sending her into the air. She regained her balance and landed back on the sand, letting out a Pin Missile attack at Gloria's command.

The projectiles hit the snake, who didn't even try to dodge.

"Brutal Swing."

"Night Slash!"

Silicobra darted towards Penny, its tail covered in a dark energy. It lifted it up and swung it towards Penny, who immediately scratched the reptile when it was close. Silicobra hissed and was returned before he could fall to the ground.

"Penny, return." Gloria looked up at Hop, seeing clearly the exhaustion in his posture. "We can stop if you—"

He ignored her and sent out a green monkey, resembling Nori. He was taller and a lot more serious-looking. Two twigs balanced atop his head.

Gloria looked at her Team, not knowing who to choose to go into battle next. She wanted to switch into a Pokémon weak to Nori, but everyone on her Team was super effective to him. . .

Everyone except one.

She slowly reached for its Poké Ball and opened it, revealing a slender fish with a propeller-tail. Barraskewda glanced around for a moment, before landing on Gloria and the Poké Ball in her hand. His eyes narrowed at the sight, but he was hit by an onslaught of razor-sharp leaves before he could move.

Barraskewda whirled around, eyes locking onto Nori. Without warning, he darted towards the monkey.

"Wait! Stop!" Gloria shouted to it, but her words fell on deaf ears. Barraskewda opened his mouth, revealing ice-covered teeth.

Nori jumped up, leaving the fish clamping his jaws down on empty air. Nori released another Razor Leaf, hitting Barraskewda and angering him even more.

"Stop!" Gloria pleaded to her Pokémon, her eyes locked on the scene before her.

Barraskewda turned to her, pure anger and hatred in his gaze. Then he suddenly reached out and bit into Nori, ice spreading quickly across the mammal. With him now frozen, Barraskewda rushed towards Gloria.

"R-Return!" She stuttered out, finally willing her body to move and return the aggressive fish. She took a few breaths, trying to calm herself down.

A sigh interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up to see Hop staring at his feet. "I'm sorry, Gloria." He walked to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to go and. . . train with everyone. Please don't worry about me."

"Wait, Hop!" Gloria called after her friend, though not once did he look back at her. She gazed at her Barraskewda's Poké Ball, a new anger in her. _You were supposed to let him win! You had a Type disadvantage!_ Her grip tightened around it, as if she hoped the creature inside could feel what she was going through. _I wish I could get rid of you; you've been horrible every time I see you. . ._

A loud crash broke through her thoughts, and she let out a gasp as she noticed smoke and dust drifting into the air behind the Gym. _What was that?!_ She pushed her Barraskewda's Poké Ball into her bag and took out Tuff's Poké Ball as she ran towards the smoke.

She was led up a hill with clay stairs, before finally stopping as she reached the top.

Bede was at the top, no one else around him, save for a Copperajah. The boy glanced down at a phone and rubbed his eyes free of the dust before looking back at the steel elephant. "Copperajah, hit it once more! The Wishing Star energy behind it is stronger than before!"

Gloria watched in horror as the Pokémon let out a trill of agreement and crashed her trunk into a large stone with multicolored graffiti marks covering it. The elephant hit a spot with cracks already forming, making them larger; one more hit and the stone would crumble for sure.

"Bede!" Gloria shouted at the teen, noticing him tense up at her voice. "What are you doing?"

He turned to her, his gaze empty. "What does it look like? I'm finding Wishing Stars for the Chairman." His eyes narrowed at her before looking back at Copperajah. "One more time, hit it!"

"No!" Gloria tried to tell the elephant, but it was too late; with a single hit, the stone crumbled to the ground, releasing a cloud of dust in the air.

Gloria covered her eyes and coughed as the dust entered her lungs, not noticing Bede glance at her in concern. He quickly wiped his face and looked through the debris, noticing Wishing Stars in a hole left behind by the stone.

He smiled and ran towards them, climbing the rocky debris until he reached the hole in the cliff side. He picked the Wishing Stars up and placed them one by one into his coat's pockets.

"My, so this is what you do when I am not around?"

Bede whirled around, his face lighting up as he saw the man standing behind Gloria. "Mr. Rose! I've found Wishing Stars for you! There were a ton of them behind the rock here." He jumped down the stones and walked towards the Chairman. "I've been collecting them, just as you wanted." He opened his pockets and offered a Wishing Star to the Chairman.

Elijah Rose simply stared at him, disappointment and anger on his face. He said nothing, and hadn't seemed to take notice of Gloria standing nearby.

Slowly Bede lowered his arm, his smile disappearing. "Mr. Rose. . ?"

"You have destroyed the mural." Elijah's voice was as cold as his blank expression. "Do you realize what you have done?"

Bede took a small step back. "I- I found the Wishing Stars though. The ones you want—"

_Smack!_

Bede staggered backwards, holding his face and gasping in shock. Gloria almos couldn't believe it either; Chairman Rose had slapped Bede right where his bruise had been from earlier.

"When you had asked to borrow my Copperajah, I believed it was for something important- _not_ for destroying Stow-On-Side's mural! It has been here for centuries, and you just ruined it!"

"I- I'm, sorry! Please, it won't happen again!" Bede was shaking slightly, his eyes wide. He flinched and immediately covered his head as Rose stretched his arm out again.

"Your League Card," Rose demanded.

"Wh- what?"

Without warning, Rose snatched the boy's Card from one of his coat pockets. And then he snapped it in half between his two hands. Bede could do nothing but stare in horror as his League Card was destroyed right in front of him.

"I had believed I was doing you a favor in granting you permission to partake in the Gym Challenge, though it seems I have made a mistake in doing that. From this day forth, you are disqualified from Galar's Gym Challenge." He let the remainders of the League Card fall to the ground and turned around, just now seeing Gloria. Their eyes met but he gave no indication of her presence. Oleana whispered in his ear, and he opened his mouth, glancing back at Bede. "I never want to see you again. Run and stay away from my sight."

Oleana glared at both Bede and Gloria before leading Rose away with his Copperajah.

The area was silent for several seconds as both teens tried to take in what had just happened. It had all happened so fast. . .

A shaky breath caught Gloria's attention, and she quickly hurried to Bede. He was staring at his feet, tears falling down his face. His hands were clenched into fists and his body was shivering.

"Bede," Gloria began as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Leave me alone!" He hissed at her, snatching himself away from her touch. Gloria instantly drew her hand back, taken by surprise at Bede's reaction. "This is your fault!"

"I'm sor—"

"Just shut up!" He ran his hands through his hair, his body shaking as he struggled to stop the tears from falling down his cheeks. "You don't understand. . . What this means. . ."

"Bede," Gloria tried again, but he didn't respond. Instead, he looked at her, his violet eyes puffy and red from his tears. His cheek was a bright red as well, and a white imprint of Rose's hand was still visible on it.

"Just leave me alone. You're better off without me anyway," Bede breathed, his voice as cold as his face was red. Without another word, he turned and took off down the stairs into Stow-On-Side.

"Bede!" Gloria called his name once more, but it was all in vain, as he had already left. Willing up her last remaining strength, she took off after him, hoping to find him once more and help him with whatever he was going through.

"Hey, Gloria!"

She slowed down, looking to her left and seeing Victor walking out of the Stow-On-Side Gym with Brook beside him. He waved to her, smiling, and ran to catch up to her. "What's wrong?" He asked, noticing her worried expression.

The girl glanced around before letting out a sigh. "It's Bede. . . He suddenly ran off, and I want to help him and. . ."

Victor put his hand on her shoulder and looked to the side, his eyes widening slightly as he noticed the crumbled stone of the mural Bede had destroyed. "Does that have anything to do with him?" He asked, motioning in the direction of the mural.

Gloria nodded. "Yes. . . How did you—"

"Because it just made sense. Oh, how was Hop? Did you manage to talk to him?" Victor asked her, changing the subject.

"I did, but it only seemed to make him feel worse." She bit her lip and stared at her feet. "Today's not going good at all. . ."

"Hey, it's alright." Victor patted her head and gave her a kind smile. "Just put it behind you, okay? Worry about it later; the Gym Leader is inside waiting for you." He stopped to nudge her in that direction. 

"But—"

"Your friends will still be here. Besides, I know that the fight won't be that bad; you've proven how strong you are." He laughed. "You'll be in and out in less than thirty minutes." He nudged her again. "Go on, I'm cheering for you!"

Reluctantly, Gloria allowed herself to walk to the Gym. She looked back at Victor before entering. He was nowhere to be seen.

⚔️ 🛡

"Penny, I choose you!"

In a bright flash, the striped Linoone appeared, her pink eyes gazing at the crowd around her.

The Gym was more filled than any battle Gloria had had before. All those eyes. . . Watching her. Somehow the thought had never occurred to her until now. She could feel her heart pounding hard against her chest, so loud that she was sure the audience could hear it over the noise.

Across the stadium was the Ghost-Type Gym Leader. This was his first major Pokémon battle according to the announcements, and he would be taking over for Bea the next year. Apparently the two Leaders alternated between challengers; Victor had been first to challenge Bea, so Allister was Gloria's opponent.

As soon as she met the small ghost Trainer, she recognized him as the boy that had attacked her and Victor a few nights ago. She hadn't said anything, but she was almost completely sure that he recognized her as well.

"Mimikyu, come out." The Gym Leader's voice was barely a whisper from his microphone.

"Pin Missile!" Gloria commanded Penny. The Linoone immediately shot missiles towards her opponent. 

"Don't let it hit you," Allister told his Mimikyu. The Disguise Pokémon chirped a reply and expertly avoided every one of Penny's attacks.

Gloria frowned, her eyes narrowing as she watched her Pokémon's move miss Mimikyu completely. "Go for a Bite!"

"Dazzling Gleam."

A flash of pink light burst from the Mimikyu, blinding everyone watching and sending a wave of fairy energy crashing to Penny's side. The Linoone was hit, stopping her preparation for her Bite Attack. She let out a small growl and quickly steadied herself once more.

"Bite again!"

Penny charged at the Mimikyu, baring her sharp fangs. This time, Mimikyu jumped up and sent out two long, shadowy arms. The arms glowed pink with fairy energy as they began to pound Penny's back, causing her to whimper in pain.

"Stop! _Stop!_" Gloria shouted across the field, desperate to save her Pokémon. Both Mimikyu and his Trainer froze to stare at her, before the latter returned his Pokémon to its Dusk Ball.

Gloria glanced at her Linoone, still injured from the Play Rough move Mimikyu had executed. There was no point in keeping her out; her injuries were too much for her to be able to land a single hit, let alone fight properly.

"Return," Gloria called out, bringing Penny back to her Poké Ball. She readied another and threw it, releasing Valiant. The avian flapped his wings, letting his brilliant feathers catch the lights and shine. Across the field, Allister let out a Cursola, her pale, ghostly arms dancing in the air.

Gloria gave a nod to Valiant, letting him know she was ready to let him take the lead if he needed to. "Start with a Hone Claws."

The Corvisquire began sharpening his talons against one another, eyeing the Cursola warily the entire time. When Cursola failed to move at all, Valiant prepared another Home Claws, ready to take it out in one hit.

He sharpened his talons one last time before giving a nod to Gloria. She gave him a nod back, trying to ignore the strange feeling she felt as Cursola never once moved or attacked.

"Power Trip!" At those words, Valiant charged straight towards the Cursola, his dark talons scratching at the ghost's face through her ectoplasmic body.

Cursola winced at the attack, pieces of the plasmic coral breaking away and dissipating as they reached the ground due to the pain from Valiant. Though, with that extra weight now gone, she was able to move a lot quicker now.

"Shadow Ball." The ghost fired a powerful sphere of pure spectral energy, shooting it so fast Valiant had no time to react, let alone dodge. He fell to the ground but quickly got back up, shaking his wings before taking flight again.

Cursola aimed another Shadow Ball at him, but this time he was able to dodge. He flew above the ghost and dove down suddenly, his talons open and ready with a Power Trip attack.

Before he could hit her, however, he suddenly veered to the right and fell to the ground.

"Corvi!" He squawked in alarm, flapping his left wing rapidly in an attempt to lift himself back into the air. His right wing, though, was completely stiff. It almost looked like stone with the way that it was colored. . .

Gloria gasped suddenly as she noticed that the stone was spreading across his entire body. Both of his legs were frozen, as well as most of his chest. "Val!" She cried out his name, hurrying to return him back to his Poké Ball before the stone could spread any further.

"What was that?!" She shouted to Allister. "He could've died from whatever you did to him!"

Allister glanced up, his violet gaze finally meeting Gloria's, sending shivers down her back. "Cursola turns anything that touches it into stone. . . I- I thought you would've known that. . .”

Gloria's eyes narrowed as she bit her tongue to keep from shouting at him anymore. _How is anyone supposed to know that, anyway?_ She let out a sigh and sent out Penny again. _If we can at least knock out the Cursola, we should be fine._

Penny popped out, shifting her weight between her forepaws. _If we can't attack it from up close, then we'll have to hit it from a distance._

"Pin Missile!" The attacks landed straight at the Ghost-Type, finally knocking her out. "Great job!" Gloria praised Penny, giving her a smile. She returned the Dual-Type, noticing Allister bring back out his Mimikyu; if just a single Fairy attack hit Penny, she would be defeated.

"Tuff!" She shouted as she threw her Starter's Ball, releasing the fiery rabbit.

The Raboot had her forepaws in the tufts of fur around her waist as she looked at Mimikyu. She glanced back at Gloria with a bored expression.

Gloria ignored her gaze and shouted out her command. "Tuff, use—"

_"What if it's my Pokémon that are making me weak?_"

"D- Double Kick!" She shouted quickly, trying to push the sudden image of Hop from her mind.

"Ra," Tuff scoffed, turning away from her Trainer. Gloria could feel herself start to recoil at the sight.

"I- I meant use Flame Charge!"

Tuff looked at her one last time and sighed, shaking her head. And then, with a bright flash, she returned herself to her Poké Ball.

Gloria tensed, but threw out Penny before she could think about what Tuff just did. _All we need to do is hit Mimikyu from afar, and then dodge its attacks._ "Pin Missile!"

Once again, Penny shot missiles towards Mimikyu, and again it avoided every one of them.

Gloria froze as she noticed the Mimikyu readying another Dazzling Gleam. "Quick, Dark Pulse!"

Penny shot the powerful attack at the Disguise Pokémon. The Mimikyu fell to its side, only to quickly get back up, its head lolling to the side. It wasn't even hurt in any way.

_Th- That's it? All of that work, and we didn't even hurt it?_

Mimikyu shot another Dazling Gleam, hitting and fainting Penny before she could even react.

_How? I can't. . ._

_No! This can't have happen—_

_"This is your fault!"_

Gloria shook and fell to the ground on her knees. "What's happening. . ?" Why did it seem like everything was against her? Why was everyone suffering all at once? Why couldn't she help her friends. . ?

She couldn't take it anymore, and stared at the ground as tears fell down her cheeks. "I can't. Why. . . is everyone so sad? I'm. . . I'm just trying to help them all. . ."

The brunette couldn't hear the calls of the audience, nor did she notice when someone came behind her and returned Penny.

"A- Are you alright-t?" The quiet voice is what finally made her look up, seeing Allister's masked face watching her.

"I'm sorry. . ." Gloria stood up and wiped her eyes. "I can't. . . I can't battle."

Allister nodded understandingly and gently took her hand without another word. She shivered at his cool touch, and could see that his hand was shaking as he held hers.

Blindly, Gloria allowed herself to be led off the field and down the hallway towards the front lobby. As soon as they reached it, Allister drew his hand back and gripped onto it tightly with his other hand.

"I-I'm sorry for this. I-I hope t-to battle you a-again." His voice grew quieter with each word, before he finally turned and ran the other way.

Gloria stared at the direction he had ran off to, her gaze blank. _I. . . lost._

She lost a Gym Battle. 

That realization, however, was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart from earlier. _Hop. . . Bede. . ._ Fresh tears fell down her face as she remembered that she couldn't help either of them. _I wish I could—_

She stopped, hearing someone sniffling nearby. She tried to wipe her eyes, realizing that she was outside the Gym.

Trying her hardest, Gloria held back her tears and tried to follow the sound.

There.

Bede was sitting behind the Gym, hugging his knees to his chest. He hadn't seen or heard Gloria approaching him.

For the brunette, though, her heart broke again seeing him like that. Without warning, she ran to him and fell, wrapping him in an attempt at a hug. "I-I'm sorry-y-y." Her voice cracked.

Bede looked at her, his eyes wide and glassy. "Wh-why are you. . ." He trailed off as Gloria wrapped her arms around him tighter.

"W-wait. . . Don't cry, Gloria. Please, don't." His voice was surprisingly soft compared to the anger he released to her earlier. He held her close, letting her cry into him and trying to stop his own tears. "P-please don't cry. You did nothing wrong."

The two held each other close, both needing the other to keep themselves together.

And together, they cried forever everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .....
> 
> I'm sorry for this chapter. 
> 
> I tried to have this one out sooner, but there's just so much happening in it, and with how depressing it is, I could only work on it a little each day. 
> 
> I promise it will start to get better soon though. 
> 
> Also, Gloria lost her battle. Big surprise, huh. . ?
> 
> I feel like having her lose a battle or two helps make her more human and all. . . She'll just have to work that much harder if she wants to live up to the Champion....
> 
> Question: what do you think of Gloria losing her battle with Allister?


	20. Christmas Special

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a chapter but I thought you’d enjoy

"Hey, Sonia, do you really think we need to bring so many cookies?"

Sonia nodded, carrying several bags in her arms. "Of course we do. My Alcremie even helped me make them, so they're definitely going to be good. That means that everyone will keep wanting more and more of them."

Her red-headed sister nodded slowly, holding a box of Christmas cookies. "Alright. . ." She sighed. "Can I eat one now?"

Sonia turned around, her ponyta-tail coming around to hit her in the face. "No! These are for Leon's party!"

"I know." Rose closed her eyes. "But I'm hungry and tired and. . ."

"Well, we're almost there." Sonia looked up, seeing her friend's large tan house up ahead. "Come on!" She quickened her pace, leaving her twin with no choice but to jog in order to keep up.

The two reached the front of the house a few moments later. They could hear shouts coming from the other side of the door, and glanced at each other.

"You first," Sonia said, nudging Rose ahead of herself. Rose shot her an annoyed glare but didn't argue.

Rose stepped forward and lifted her right knee up to support the box of cookies, using her left hand to hold the other end. She raised her right hand and knocked a few times on the door.

A few seconds passed before the door opened, revealing a boy who was looking over his shoulder. He had brown skin and short black hair, hidden behind a bright orange headband. "Mace! Calm down and quit chasing the poor cat!" he shouted behind him, not yet noticing the two girls in front of him. He sighed and turned his head to look back ahead, his eyes lighting up as he saw who was there.

"Rose!" A fanged grin spread across his face as his teal eyes met the girl's green ones. He glanced at her sister. "And Sonia, too!" He stepped back, allowing the two to come in.

"Wow, its very festive here," Rose commented, looking around at all of the red and green decorations.

Raihan nodded. "Yeah, and it's—" He stooped as a Purrloin jumped into his waist, dropping a rainbow-colored marble that she was holding in her mouth.

"Aha!" Another boy came running towards them, reaching down to pick up the colorful marble. At that moment, the Purrloin humped off of Raihan, snatching up the marble before the new person could. "Ugh!" he whined. "You're as annoying here as you are back home!" The Purrloin simply snickered before darting up the stairs, making the boy chase after her.

"Mace!" Raihan shouted. He glanced back at Rose and Sonia for a second. "Sorry. I have to go get him— you can go put your things over there." He pointed to a table, which already had several items and trays of food on it. Then he turned and ran after Mace upstairs.

"Well, it certainly is crazy here," Sonia muttered, walking past Rose to place her bags on the table. Rose did the same thing with her box of cookies.

"Yeah," Rose told her, taking a cookie out for herself to munch on. "But it seems like it'll be fun." She glanced around. "Where do you think Piers could be?"

Sonia shrugged and went to go sit down at the living room sofa. "If I were to guess, he's probably stuck at home babysitting his little sister."

Rose nodded slowly, walking to join her sister. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, finishing her cookie. "Hopefully he'll be here tomorrow at least; I'd hate for him to miss this party."

A loud cry came from upstairs, and both girls looked at the stairs to see Leon's mum walking down the stairs, carrying a sleeping baby in her arms. Behind her tailed both Raihan and Mace, both boys looking quite annoyed at everything and everyone.

"Oh, Sonia, Rose!" Mrs. Heyer said as she saw them sitting on the sofa. As she spoke, the baby she was holding opened his eyes and turned his head to the two strangers. He closed his eyes and smiled as he extended his small arm out to them. His mum sighed and glanced at the girls. "One of you wouldn't mind watching Hop, would you? I need to get everything ready for supper tonight."

"I'll help!" Rose shot up and hurried over to Mrs. Heyer, gently taking the little baby in her arms. "He's so cute!"

"Thank you, Rose." The woman gazed at her son lovingly before turning to retreat to the kitchen.

Rose went back to her spot next to Sonia, only to have Raihan and Mace plop down on either side of them. Hop laughed and reached for the boy sitting beside Rose, Mace.

Mace had dark skin and golden eyes, carrying a striking resemblance to Leon. The only difference was that Mace had short, whitish hair instead of it being purple.

"Y'know, I'm actually here visiting from Unova," Mace declared suddenly, putting his arms behind his head.

"Okay?" Sonia leaned forward and glanced at him. "Why are you telling us this?"

"Because." Mace lifted his nose into the air. "Once I become the champ there, I'm going to come here and defeat everyone!"

Rose rolled her eyes, glancing down at Hop. The young baby was gazing at the white-haired Unovan Trainer with huge eyes full of wonder.

"I'm Leon's cousin, by the way," Mace spoke again, trying to start another conversation.

"Oh my gosh!" Raihan spoke up from his place next to Sonia. "No one cares, Mace!"

Mace frowned, crossing his arms. "Well, maybe _you_ don't care, but maybe they want to know that that means my aunt is the strongest Unovan Champion—"

"Stop!" Sonia shouted, causing everyone to look at her. "You two are acting like children. Grow up." Hop laughed and clapped his hands as she finished speaking. Sonia glanced at him, a small smile on her face, before remembering what she was going to say. "Do either of you know where Leon is?"

"Upstairs," both boys replied, much to the annoyance of each other. They glared at each other with nothing but hate as Sonia nodded.

"Okay. Thanks." She cast an apologetic glance at Rose before standing up and walking up the stairs.

"So, Rose. Christmas is tomorrow." Raihan looked away from Mace and at Rose, smiling warmly. He scooted to where Sonia had been sitting a few seconds earlier.

"Yeah?" Rose tilted her head at him.

"Do you know what you want?"

She shrugged, bringing her attention back to Hop. "I don't really care what I get, as long as I get to see you all happy."

Mace huffed. "Well, _I_ want a Mega Ring for my Mega Stone!" He pulled out the rainbow marble from his pocket. Apparently he had taken it back from the Purrloin when he was upstairs.

Raihan cast him a glare, which he missed. Then he looked back at Rose. "For me, I want the newest RotoPhone."

"Well I hope you get what you want," Rose told him, avoiding his gaze. Hop gripped her thumbs with his tiny fingers and let out a squeal of delight.

"Well I also really want something else. . ." He trailed off, looking at the redhead.

"What?" Rose looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"He's trying to say that he likes you," Mace interrupted.

"No I don't!"

"Oh." Rose kept watching Hop as Raihan started yelling at Mace. "I already knew that."

Raihan stopped and looked at her. "Wait, really? You did?"

"Yeah. You make it so obvious." She looked at him for a second.

"So you'll like me ba—"

"No, sorry." She closed her eyes, only to open one again as Mace sighed loudly beside her.

"Aren't any of you going to ask about my Mega Stone?" He asked, trying to bring attention back to himself.

"No, because we don't care," Raihan responded, exasperated.

"Well, once my Trapinch evolves into Flygon. . ." Mace carried on over Raihan, much to his annoyance. "I'll make it a Mega Flygon!"

Raihan opened his mouth to reply to him, but just then they heard someone stepping down the stairs. Or really, two someone's.

"Hello," Leon greeted everyone, wearing a Santa hat and shirt. Behind him stood Sonia, a large and amused smile on her face. "Ho, Ho!" Leon walked over to where Rose was and picked his baby brother up. "Hello there, Hoppy—"

Hop interrupted with a loud scream, making Leon quickly shake his head free of the hat he was wearing.

"It's just me! Please stop!" Panic filled his voice as he tried desperately to get his brother to stop crying. "You're not helping," he muttered to Sonia, who was clutching her sides as she laughed.

"I know," she gasped out. "But this is too funny, watching him get the better of you."

Leon groaned in reply and looked to Rose for help. The girl smiled and took Hop back from him, her face lighting up as he calmed down almost immediately.

"Seems like he just doesn't like you," she said jokingly to Leon. He simply frowned at her.

"Well I'm going to help out with supper," Sonia announced, turning around to go into the kitchen.

"I'll help too!" Leon put his Santa hat back on and went after her.

"No way!" Sonia laughed. "Your cooking is terrible!" But she didn't try to stop him from following her.

Rose smiled softly, seeing her sister happy. She watched the two of them leave, thinking about how cute they were together.

❄️❄️❄️

"It's snowing!!"

Rose and Sonia started awake, alarmed by Raihan's yelling. A few seconds later he burst through the room, only to freeze and quickly go back out. "Sorry!"

Rose shook her head, smiling softly. "It's fine," Sonia said to him.

A few more moments passed before Raihan spoke again. "It's Christmas today— and I think Piers's visiting today, too!"

"Alright, alright. We're getting ready," Sonia said to him, standing up. She waited until she was sure Raihan had left before glancing back at her sister. "Come on. Let's get changed and meet everyone downstairs for breakfast."

Rose yawned, regretting for a second how late she had stayed up. She was a bit surprised that Sonia wasn't more tired. "Yeah, fine." She stood up and stretched before walking past her sister and down the hallway to Leon's room. "Anyone in here?" She called out, but heard no reply. Together, she and Sonia stepped inside slowly, seeing some of Leon's old Christmas clothes on the bed for them.

"This one's cute," Sonia said, picking up a white long-sleeved shirt with Stantler and Deerling on the front.

Rose nodded at her, taking a red shirt for herself, with Wooloo wool around the neck and wrists, making it warm. She glanced out the window, seeing white speckles of frozen water drift lazily down to the ground. "It's so pretty," she commented, getting closer to have a better view. "I wish I could live somewhere where it snows all the time."

"Yeah," Sonia told her, "but remember how cold it is? It would be miserable!"

Rose shook her head, glancing back at her. "It would be perfect."

"If you say so," Rose replied, turning to leave the room to change. "If you ever move someplace where it does snow every day, don't expect me to visit you."

Rose frowned. "Fine. I'll live someplace where it's not as cold." But her sister had already left.

❄️❄️❄️

Rose and Sonia came downstairs, seeing everyone all dressed for Christmas. Mrs. Heyer had a red-and-white bow in her hair, as well as a light blue shirt. Mace was wearing a white ugly Christmas sweater, with a Unovan dragon on the front. Raihan had a light green shirt on and a red scarf and headband with little bells. And finally, Leon was dressed as Santa again, only now he was holding his brother, who was wearing a matching hat.

The seven of them ate breakfast, which was somehow better than what they had had the night before.

They opened their presents afterwards. Sonia got a Poké Ball from Leon, and inside was a little Yamper. Rose got a Stantler headband, which she put on immediately, and some toys to give to her Rookidee. Leon and Mace both received a signed card from a powerful Trainer back in Kanto, as well as a Dynamax Band and Mega Ring respectively.

Raihan opened his presents, finding himself holding the newest RotoPhone. He jumped up and down in joy, telling Rose how much he loved her, even though she wasn't the one to buy it for him.

Piers couldn't come by, as he was stuck at home with his parents. They refused to leave because of the small snowstorm, and they didn't want their daughter getting sick. They wished the merriest Christmas, though, to everyone.

"Rose, can I take a picture of you and me?" Raihan held his new phone up, only to have it pushed down by the redhead.

"I don't like pictures of myself. Sorry."

Raihan huffed and walked away to take selfies of himself with Leon and Sonia.

"Hey, Rose." Mace called her over to him. She walked to him, confused. She was holding Hop, and was careful to make sure he was safe. "Stand right here," he told her, motioning in front of a huge window.

"Okay?" Rose did as she was told and watched in confusion as he left. She looked down at Hop, seeing him share her expression.

"Hi." She looked up immediately, seeing Raihan walking to her, hands in his pockets.

"Hello," she replied back to him, frowning a bit in confusion. She said nothing as he walked beside her and looked out the window.

"Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?"

Rose nodded. "I got to see you all happy, and that's what I wanted." She turned around and looked at his face. "What about you?"

"Well. . ." Raihan scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I got my RotoPhone, and I'm super happy about that. . . But. . ."

"But. . ?" Rose asked, watching him.

"There's something else I want."

"What is—" She stopped, noticing his phone in his pocket. "No, you're not getting a picture of me."

"That's not what I want!" He threw his hands up in the air defensively. "I mean, it would be nice, but I'm not going to force you into a picture if you don't want to."

Rose narrowed her eyes, still skeptical. She looked back down at Hop and smiled at the baby. "Then what is it?"

Something pressed against her cheek, and she felt her face heat up instantly. The sound of a camera taking a picture followed.

"Raihan!" She turned her head around, but he was already gone. Her cheeks reddened even more as she realized that he had taken a picture of her.

"What?" Raihan asked, behind her at the doorway. Rose's embarrassed frown caused him to laugh quietly. "Mistletoe?" He pointed up.

Rose forced herself to look up, seeing a few Mistletoe leaves handing from a thread above her. It was all planned! Mace. . .

"Merry Christmas, Rose. Love you!" Raihan said before turning to run as Rose chased after him, holding Hop and demanding to get rid of the pictures.

Secretly though, she was happy that he liked her. And although she wouldn't ever admit it, she liked him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone!!!
> 
> I have been wanting so bad to write a Christmas special chapter, and this time I actually remembered to! So now I have a little oneshot of Rose and Raihan and everyone else from back when they were kids. 
> 
> So I really hope you all enjoyed this, because I sure loved writing it. And may you all have a merry Christmas!


	21. Special Chapter 1- Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little side-chapter, explaining the backstory of Rose Magnolia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a fair bit of warning, this chapter gets pretty dark. As in, there's death.

🌹🌹🌹

"And the winner is. . . Leon Heyer of Postwick Town!"

His readheaded opponent fell to her knees as the stadium erupted in cheers. She stared at her hands with an empty expression. _Where did I go wrong? I was so close. . ._

"Hey, Rose!" She flinched as Leon spoke her name, and lifted her head up to meet his gaze, her eyes narrowed. Leon didn't seem to notice though, and rushed to his friend, a gray Cinderace and an orange Charizard following him.

The boy stopped in front of her and held out a hand to lift her back up to her feet. "That was an amazing battle!" _But not amazing enough_, Rose thought bitterly. She frowned and took his hand.

"Thanks," she murmured as he pulled her up. There was no denying the sparkle in his eyes at the thought of being one step closer to being Galar's next Champion. She quickly drew her hand back and turned away. "Come on, Cinder," she called her rabbit. He looked at Leon worried before chasing after his Trainer.

Raihan ran towards Rose and patted her back as she entered the locker room. "You did great!" He congratulated her, grinning his signature grin.

"Leave me alone," the girl grumbled. She shook off his touch and moved over to a corner, sitting against a wall. Cinder sat a few feet away, pulling his knees up to his chest and watching her from the corner of his eyes.

Raihan took one glance at her defeated form and gulped nervously. "I'll go get So." Then he was gone, leaving Rose all alone with Cinder and her thoughts.

The match was supposed to be easy. Six Pokémon each, with a limited number of returns. Once you return a Pokémon, you can't battle with it again. That rule was largely added because of the backlash of Pokémon fighting to their deaths, like they had a few years ago. This still didn't stop Pokémon from dying, though; some Trainers refused to switch their Team members, and thus ended the lives of several Pokémon.

Rose had been careful this battle. But while she still kept her full Team of six, two of them had barely been touched by Leon's own Team. It almost didn't seem fair, having lost with two perfectly capable Pokémon still unharmed.

Cinder scooted closer and patted her back, as if reading her thoughts. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"It's not fair," she whispered, "Now I have no chance of ever becoming Champion."

"Rose!" She looked up for a second as Sonia came running into the locker room. A white Boltund followed at her heels, a gift from the Trainer who had just defeated her sister. The Electric-Type bounded ahead, rushing to Rose and licking her face happily. The girl said nothing and pushed the dog away from her. Boltund tilted her head and glanced back at her Trainer. "Go play, Cloud," Sonia told her before her Boltund ran off to go play with some of her toys. Cinder nodded to Sonia and stood up to follow Cloud.

Sonia took Cinder's spot beside Rose and rubbed her back. "What's going on?" She asked her twin softly.

Rose didn't answer and hid her mouth between her legs, which she had hugged to her chest. "Where's Rai?"

Sonia frowned slightly and blinked. "Raihan? He's out battling Leon right now. He came by to get me, and then they called for his match with Lee."

Rose didn't move.

"Look." Sonia sighed. "I know you're upset about your match and all, but don't let it get to you, alright? Because honestly, I don't think it's worth it to get so upset over this. I mean, look at me. I didn't even make it this far, and you're in the top three contenders for the Championship. Shouldn't you be proud?"

Again Rose was silent, causing Sonia to bite her lip in worry. Rose was always loud and ready for a fight. She never held anything back, and was so composed when in front of others, especially Sonia.

But looking at her now, she seemed almost like a husk of her former self. She was silent and still, and seemed to want to be left alone. It's almost like she'd been replaced.

Sonia huffed and stood. "Alright, that's it. Let's go and see Raihan and Lee's battle." She grabbed her sister's hands.

"Huh?" Rose's head shot straight up as she tried to pull herself free from Sonia's tight grip. "No! I can't!" Her cries only made Sonia more determined, and she called to Cinder to have him help her lift Rose up to her feet.

Cinder leaned down and wrapped his arms around her waist, slinging her over his shoulder.

"Traitor," Rose growled. "You know, someday when I'm older, you're going to regret treating me like this— both of you." But as it was, she and her nine-year-old limbs could do little to slow down her Cinderace.

Pleased now that she had her sister following her, Sonia whistled to Cloud and left the locker room. Rose said nothing as Cinder trailed behind Sonia, still holding her over his shoulder.

The match was still going on as the four of them took their spots in the front row of the stadium. Cinder set Rose down beside Sonia and sat on her other side, making sure that she couldn't just run off.

Both boys were down to their last Pokémon: Leon's Charizard and Raihan's Duraludon. At the far side of the battlefield laid a Pangoro, unmoving. Bright red burns and scratches covered its back. Whoever it belonged to would have to mourn its death after the match.

The sight made Rose feel sick, but she also knew there was nothing she could do. After all, people all across the region lived to see such bloodsport, and even with the rules less severe than they were, people still cheered when their side's Pokémon killed an enemy.

However, as she brought her gaze upwards, she noticed that the other end of the stadium had a whole empty row of seats. _That's where the Gym Leaders would normally sit. . ._ Curious and confused, she turned around to talk to the person behind her.

"Hey, Sir? Do you know where the Gym Leaders went?" Her voice was uncharacteristically softer than usual.

He grunted. "Why, yes. They mentioned that they had to go stop some threats out in the Wild Area. They all left about ten minutes ago, along with Champion Mustard."

Rose nodded. "Alright, thank you." She turned back around, just in time to see Charizard fly right into Duraludon, his wings coated in silver. The Iron Wing hit, and Raihan quickly returned his ace Pokémon before it could crash to the ground.

"And once again, Leon Heyer remains victorious! He could easily be the strongest Trainer in all of Galar, as he has yet to lose a single match!" Sonia snorted in amusement from beside Rose; she was probably thinking of when Cloud had fainted his Charizard in a single battle. But that was also an unofficial battle, so hardly anyone knew about it.

"Leon will face off next against the Champion himself, Champion Mustard, once he is finished over in the Wild Area!"

The audience erupted into cheers and chants of Leon's name. Cameras flashed all around as the two rivals shook hands in the center of the stadium, one accepting his defeat and the other welcoming his praise. No one seemed to notice as the Pangoro was carted off of the field.

Sonia nudged her sister's side. "You should go down there too; they're trying to get pictures of the three strongest challengers!"

Rose rubbed her arm. "Then shouldn't you go up there too. . ?"

Sonia shook her head. "You're stronger than me in battles. Besides, someone's looking for you out on the field." Rose followed her gaze and sure enough, Raihan was looking around in the stadium's crowd. "Go on!"

Rose sighed, knowing it was pointless arguing with her sister. She stood. "Come on, Cinder." She led her Cinderace down the stands, leaving her other Team members behind at her seat.

Raihan's face lift up as he saw her, and he rushed over to her side. "Glad you're better!" He greeted before grabbing her hand and practically dragging her to the center of the field.

The older boy wrapped his left arm around her shoulders, while Leon placed his right hand on her upper back. They posed and smiled for the cameras in front of them, their respective Pokémon grinning from behind them.

"I'm really sorry about the battle," Leon muttered through a smile. Rose didn't respond, and just kept her smiling façade on her face. Inside, she felt empty, like every part of her old self was gone.

And she didn't try to stop it.

🌹🌹🥀

Photos had finished about ten minutes later. The whole event went into intermission as they all waited for the Champion and Gym Leaders to return.

Leon, Raihan, and Rose all left together to go to a small café, where they met up with Sonia and a few other Trainers they had met from their Gym Challenge.

Rose broke away from the other two to sit down with her sister and Vanessa, a fisherman's daughter and swimmer from back in Hulbury. Her short black hair was pulled back into a braid that rested on her shoulder, and her cerulean eyes shone as she looked at her friend. 

The two chatted for several minutes about the latest fashion and other interests, with Rose only half-listening. She absently gazed around, spotting Cinder trying to beat Charizard in an arm-wrestle over in the corner of the small building. At the adjoining table, Leon and Raihan were going over in full detail their battle to Piers and Gordie, another friend they had met on their travels. His navy blue eyes watched the two from behind a pair of glasses.

"Rose?" The young redhead started as her sister waved a hand in front of her face. "Woah, sorry," Sonia said sheepishly, noticing Rose's flinch. "You okay?"

"Yes," Rose replied, meeting her gaze. "Sorry, what did you say?"

Sonia frowned and looked at Nessa for a second. "Are you sure you're okay? Normally you'd be all about talking with us." She tilted her head. "Are you still thinking about your battle. . ?"

The younger twin flinched like she had been hit with a Steel Wing attack. "I- I've got to go." She stood up and made her way to where Cinder was, ignoring her sister's calls for her to come back.

She passed by Leon right as he received a phone call. She glanced at the name for a second before he answered it. Mitzi. . ? The Fire-Type Leader resided in Motostoke, and also acted as the self-named "communications expert" for the Pokémon League. _Why would she call him though. . ?_

She finally reached Cinder, who was holding his arm gingerly after apparently losing against Charizard.

Suddenly Leon hung up his phone and jumped to his feet. "Sonia, Rose, Raihan!" He called their names. "Get your Pokémon and come with me! I'll explain everything on the way!"

Rose glanced around the others, confused, but returned Cinder to his Poké Ball and followed them outside, leaving the other three staring after them in confusion.

"Get out your flying Pokémon," Leon instructed, already climbing onto his Charizard's back.

Sonia blinked. "What about a Tax—?"

"There's no time!" Leon interrupted. As the three began calling out their birds, he went on. "There's been some unusual activity over in the Wild Area, and the Gym Leaders are having trouble fending it off. So they need our help, since we're the strongest Trainers in the region!"

_I'm not strong at all. I can't battle. . ._ Rose bit her lip as she got onto her Corviknight's raven wings. Sonia did the same with her golden Corviknight, and Raihan with his Flygon.

They agreed that Sonia would lead the way, since she had the best sense of direction of the three of them (not including Leon, of course). And with that, they took to the skies, leaving Wyndon and rushing over to the Wild Area.

🌹🥀🥀

Rose never liked the Wild Area. It was always just too. . . open and wild. Pokémon loomed everywhere: in the skies, in the water, in the grass, even hiding in trees. It just seemed like wherever you went, dangerous creatures waited, lurking in the shadows for their chance to strike.

And, looking at it now, it was worse than she could have ever imagined.

Red clouds filled the sky, and red beams of light towered upwards. Wild Pokémon were nowhere to be seen, giving the surreal sight an even eerier vibe.

"What do we do?" Raihan murmured, looking around at the sight

Leon glanced at him. "We go and fight some Pokémon. Mitzi said they're in the red beams."

Raihan nodded. "Alright, then." He smiled. "Let's go!" The two raced away towards a nearby beam, leaving Sonia and Rose by themselves.

"You coming?" Sonia asked, tilting her head at her sister.

"I just don't know if. . ." Rose confessed, biting her lip.

Sonia sighed. "You're fine, Rose. You're plenty strong, as your battle today showed us all. Don't let one loss ruin who you are.”

"It's not just today!" Rose snapped. She quickly caught herself and lowered her head in shame. "I'm sorry. It's just that I've never been able to best Lee or Rai in a battle, and today was no different. And with everyone watching me out there, I just felt completely different." She raised her head. "I don't know if I'm the same person anymore."

Sonia blinked. "I'm sorry. . . Do you want to talk about it on our way to help Lee. . ?"

Rose shook her head. "You go on without me." She took a breath. "I'll catch up with you guys."

Once Sonia left, Rose looked down at her hands. _I just need to have faith. So's right, I can do this._ She ran off in the opposite direction from the other three, looking for a red beam to fight by herself.

She finally reached one and jumped through it, finding herself in a large cave-like world. She quickly released Cinder as she began to explore the area. Dark red fog swirled around, and when she finally looked up, she found herself facing a huge Gyrados.

This Gyrados was a giant, well over 200 feet long. It roared in pain, thrashing about in an uncontrollable manner. Then it stopped. It had spotted her. With a cry of fury, it fired a powerful Hydro Pump straight at her and her Cinderace.

Both of them jumped to the sides, narrowly dodging the attack. Mist covered the air around them, mixing with the red fog. Rose bit her lip, her thoughts beginning to cloud up in her panic. "P-Pyro Ball!"

Cinder hooked a nearby stone on his foot and juggled it a few times, igniting the rock on fire, before kicking it towards the Gyrados. The attack seemed to have had very little impact on it.

Rose mentally yelled we at herself. Of course it wouldn't do anything! Gyrados was a Water-Type. And her other Pokémon were nowhere near strong enough to challenge this beast. She growled. "Bounce! It's our best bet!"

Cinder gave her a look of trust before launching himself into the air.

Gyrados took this time to fire another powerful Hydro Pump at Rose, which actually hit its target. She was flown back from the impact, her body completely sore from the highly pressurized water and from being slammed into the ground.

She slowly looked up, now noticing Cinder falling back down, his body completely straight as he dove towards Gyrados like a missile. The Gyrados also lifted its gaze, noticing the enemy coming towards it. Rose barely had any time to scream before Gyrados had fired another Hydro Pump attack, this time straight at Cinder. With no way to dodge, he was hit head-on, and sailed through the air, landing with a hard thud on the rocky ground.

"Cinder!" She wailed. Ignoring her pain, she jumped up and ran towards her partner. She barely even noticed as Gyrados created a mini-tornado right behind her.

She reached her Cinderace's side, noticing that his gray fur was soaked and had bruises and cuts from his fall. "Cinder," she breathed, stroking the soft fur on his forehead.

He weakly opened his eyes and glanced at her, a bit of water trickling down his mouth. "Ace. . ." He whispered, his voice sounding distorted. He was drowning, Rose realized. His organs were full of water and he couldn't breathe. Her lip quivered and her eyes filled with tears as she took her starter's paw in her hands, knowing it was already too late to do anything. She watched as he took a final, shaky breath, and then went still.

He was gone.

Rose screamed, her emotions that she had kept bottled up inside her now exploding from her. She screamed of anger, pain, and sadness. But above all, she screamed for her herself.

How useless she was as a Trainer. How she could never battle and win against her friends. How she had lost her best friend, and it being her own fault.

Her young body couldn't take the stress anymore, and she began to shiver, her movements uncontrolled and her eyes wide as she took in everything in her mind.

A hand landed on her back, but she didn't stop her shaking. She just stared at her deceased Cinderace in shock. Then arms wrapped around her, encasing her in a hug from behind. She relaxed slightly, and leaned into the embrace.

The person let go of her and spun her so that she wasn't looking at her rabbit, and instead at them. Raihan's teal eyes met her own green ones, and suddenly she was hugging him again. He seemed a bit surprised at first, but rubbed her back in an effort to help her calm down.

She only noticed the fight going on for a second, with Sonia battling Gyrados with Boltund, and Leon with Charizard. And then her mind became dark as the realization of what happened finally hit her.

She fell unconscious in Raihan's arms.

🥀🥀🥀

She made a promise that day, to never fight in a battle ever again. She became quieter, having lost all her confidence and motivation.

She vowed to never hurt another creature, be it human or Pokémon, and instead devoted her time and studies to medicine. She worked tirelessly, always feeling a thrill of pride when she was able to nurse a Pokémon back to health. But that was sometimes laced with the guilt that she couldn't save her partner's life.

She eventually moved to Sinnoh, where she worked with a team of people, devoted to help injured Pokémon. She made friends there, and saved hundreds of lives.

And now, she may just be a husk of her former self; prideful, excited, and skilled at battles. . .

But she wouldn't have it any other way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I apologize for it being so sad. I really do. I have grown to fall in love with Cinder while writing this, and knowing that he would die in it only made me feel worse. 
> 
> Other than that, I really hope you enjoyed this.
> 
> If enough people ask, I might do another special chapter, with another of the small group as kids. 
> 
> Also, I'm really trying to get back into the habit of posting a chapter a week, especially with this extended break (thanks, virus).
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I'll (hopefully!) see y'all next week in chapter 12.


	22. Special Chapter 2- Kabu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These “special chapters” don’t really hold any real purpose to the main story. They’re mainly just fun, quick oneshots about the minor characters and giving some background info on why they act the way they do and all that...

**About 20 years ago. . .**

🔥🔥🔥

_ To Kabu Akagi, _

_ We have become aware of your role as part-time Gym Leader in Lavaridge Town, Hoenn. Your serious battle style and win-streak is known throughout the globe.  _

_ We are unfortunately one Leader short of the necessary eight Gym Leaders for this year's Gym Challenge, since Fire Leader Aiden retired before training a successor.  _

_ We have noticed that you have not been Gym Leader for long, though your skills already match that of a professional Trainer. We humbly ask that you consider this proposition, as not only are your skills fancied, but your young age could make you a Gym Leader for many years to come.  _

_ Please respond back in a time period of up to fourteen (14) days, or two (2) weeks to secure your spot as Galar's next Fire-Type Gym Leader.  _

_ We hope to see you soon, _

_ Wyndon Gym Challenge Council _

"Growl?" A Growlithe barked, tilting his head at his Trainer and the letter in his hands. 

"Please tell me you're not actually going to go." His younger sister told him, a frown on her face. "You can't possibly be considering leaving us and going off to Galar!"

The young man sighed and set the letter down, looking at his sister. "Flana, calm down. The letter only just arrived. And besides, I still have about 10 days to think about it."

"But the Gym! Who's going to take care of it when you leave?!" The russet-haired girl shouted at him, immediately making him yell back at her. 

"Flannery! I never said I was actually going to leave! I still have a while to think about whether I accept the invitation or not." Her brother sighed and rubbed his forehead with his hand. "And even if I were to go, it won't really matter much, since Grandpa takes care of the battles every other day. I'm still not a full-time Gym Leader here yet."

"But. . ." Flannery crossed her arms. "But Grandpa's getting old, and he can't take care of the Gym for much longer; that's why you're helping him in the first place! Why can't you ever understand, Kabu?!"

Kabu growled, shoving the letter towards her. "Fine. If you have such a problem with everything, why don't you take the invitation and go to Galar in my place?" 

"Why can’t we just ignore it?! Tell them it got lost in the mail or something. We don't have to do anything about the invitation!" She groaned. "You stay at the Gym, I stay here in Lavaridge, they find another person as Gym Leader. It's a win-win-win!"

Her black-haired brother sighed. "That's not how it works. Their Gym Challenge is a huge deal— you've seen their matches on tv before. It starts in a few months, and I'm really the only person who is qualified enough to take the spot."

Flannery blinked. "Are you serious?! Kabu," she closed the distance between them and stared up at her brother. "You already sound like you’ve made up your mind. And besides, what about the  _ Gym _ . What'll happen to Lavaridge Gym, or have you forgotten about that?"

"First, I have yet to fully decide on this offer. And second, Grandpa can find someone to train, like how he trained me. It won't be that hard to find someone."

"Arghhh! You don't get it—"

"No, Flannery,  _ you _ don't get it. I'm almost 20- perfectly capable of making my own decisions. This is a chance for me to go and explore other places, but of course I don't expect you to understand that." 

"Hey! Take that back!" 

"No." He snatched the letter out of her hand. "I'm going to think about it, and I don't need you or anyone else persuading my opinion." And with that, he left to his room, Growlithe following him. 

Kabu sat on his bed and stared at the letter in his hand. As much as he hated to admit it, his sister  _ did  _ have a point; what  _ would  _ become of the Gym if he were to leave? Their grandpa was nearly too old to take care of it completely, and in a couple of months, it would be given to Kabu for him to fully take over. 

But at the same time, there was that sense of mystery and adventure that appeared with the thought of going to another region. He had always been a free spirit, burning in the darkness and lighting his own path. He didn’t have to listen to what his younger sister was saying. 

He put the letter down and lifted his Growlithe onto his bed. “I don’t know what to do, buddy. Any ideas?”

Growlithe tilted his head. “Growli?” He smiled and rubbed his head on Kabu’s shoulder before proceeding to lick his face. 

Kabu laughed. “Okay, okay! You’re right, I still have time to think about this.”

Growlithe’s only reply was a cheerful bark. 

🔥🔥🔥

The days came and went. In the time that Kabu wasn’t at the Lavaridge Gym, he was considering his options about whether to leave or stay in Hoenn. Flannery began avoiding him, only speaking to him when it was directly necessary. Neither of them had told their grandfather about the letter; it was up to Kabu to decide, and they didn’t want to worry their grandfather with this. 

A week later, as Kabu was finished defeating a young Trainer and his Rattata, he finally came to a conclusion. 

He would stay here in Hoenn. 

There were so many great things about Hoenn, like the sun, bright skies, and starry nights. He especially loved Lavaridge Town and his family, and wouldn’t ever want to leave them. His life was already perfect, so why try to change it?

He came back home and handed his grandfather his Slugma and Magcargo’s Poké Balls. 

“So I take it today was an easy day for you?” His grandfather asked him, looking at his two Pokémon. 

“Yes, Sir. The Trainers have been very easy to defeat lately. I don’t even have to bring Growlithe with me.” As he mentioned his fire dog, he glanced around, noticing that Growlithe was missing. “Hey, where’s Growlithe?”

“He’s out with your sister. They’re walking around town.” 

Kabu nodded. “Would you like some tea, Grandpa?”

“Yes, that would be lovely. Thank you, Kabu.”

“Of course.” He stood and left to the kitchen, preparing a pot of water on the stove. He looked down and nodded to his grandfather’s Torkoal, who then heated the pot with a small Ember. 

While the water was heating up, he brought out two small cups and added a tiny bit of Johtonian Bayleef leaves to them. When he was younger, he was always afraid to drink Bayleef tea, but his grandfather had explained that the leaves were not actually a part of a Bayleef, and they could grow back in a week or two. 

Once the water was boiling, he carefully lifted the pot up and poured it into the two cups and stirred them. 

He smiled and looked down at Torkoal. “Thanks for your help.”

“Tor.” The Torkoal bowed his head and slowly made his way back to Kabu’s grandfather. 

Suddenly, the front door burst open, a red-haired girl stepping in with a Growlithe. She went straight into the kitchen and held out a red crystal, with a flame lighting up on the inside. “Went out shopping, and your Growlithe took an interest in this.” She placed it onto the counter before noticing the two cups of tea her brother was making. “Ooh, Bayleef tea, my favorite!” She took a cup and sipped from it. 

“W-wait! That was for Grandpa!” Kabu told her, but the tea was already nearly gone. 

Flannery glanced at him. “There’s still one cup left for him. Don’t know what your problem is.”

_ I wanted some too. . . _ Kabu sighed and lifted the other cup up. “Thanks for the Fire Stone, Flana.” He exited the room and set the cup down beside his grandfather. 

“Yep, no prob. Hopefully it convinces you to stay here, instead of leav—” Kabu’s eyes shot up towards her’s in panic; neither of them had explained anything to their grandfather yet. “I- I mean. . . umm. . .” Flannery trailed off, trying desperately to think of an excuse for her slip-up. 

“Don’t bother, Flannery.” They both turned as their grandfather spoke. He took a sip of his tea and held up a piece of paper, nearly folded. “I suppose you are both speaking about this, am I correct?”

Kabu’s face paled at the sight of the Galarian letter. “I. . .”

“Seriously, Kabu?! You had to show him the letter?!” Flannery groaned. “He already has enough to think about without having to worry about your invitation!”

“I promise, it wasn’t—!” Her brother began, but stopped as their grandfather held his hand up. 

“Quiet, both of you. Neither of you showed me this letter. In fact, it was Kabu’s Growlithe who brought it to me.” He took another sip of his tea. 

“Grandpa, before you say anything, I’ve already made up my mind on it.” Both people turned towards him as he spoke. 

“Yes, I figured as much. That’s what I had wanted to talk to you about. And I already know what your answer is going to be. So that’s why—” He held out the letter. “I want you to accept the invitation and travel to Galar.”

Both siblings blinked in confusion. “What? Grandpa, what are you saying?!”

He smiled. “I’m sure you both heard me, and understood what I meant. Think about it Kabu, it’ll be an experience for you. You will be able to travel to a new region, explore the place, and meet all sorts of new Pokémon.”

Kabu hesitated. “But Grandpa, I want to stay here. I like it— no, I love it here in Hoenn, in Lavaridge.”

“And if I recall, you love adventure even more.” Kabu flinched at his grandfather’s words. “Ever since you were young, you always took an interest in adventures and battling. So much so, that you would practically beg me to let you go out on a journey throughout Hoenn.” He smiled calmly. “And I know that deep down, you’re curious about all this, and you want to go out and experience Galar for yourself. Not only that, but the challengers there will actually be, well, a challenge. Compared to the ones here, who are easy for you to defeat.”

_ He has a point. And he’s also right, I  _ do  _ want to go. . . But. . . _ He glanced at his grandfather, then his sister.  _ I can’t just leave them behind. And then there’s also— _

“Grandpa, aren’t you forgetting about something?” Flannery asked, both hands on her hips. 

“Oh, and what’s that?” He raised an eyebrow at her, the ghost of a smile on his face. 

“The Gym! You can’t just send Kabu off to Galar, especially when you’re nearly too old yourself to manage the Gym here.” She huffed. “Kabu should stay here. They’ll find someone else eventually.”

“Oh, you’re right.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “If only there was someone else who could take over for the Gym. Someone young, and with a fiery heart. . .”

Kabu looked at his sister, as did his grandfather. 

“Huh?” She looked between the two of them, realization coming across her face. “No no no no. Nuh-uh. Nope. I am  _ not  _ going to become a Gym Leader.” The two were silent, giving another type of persuasion: peer pressure. Flannery shifted slightly. “I- I can’t even battle that well, so you guys can’t really expect me to take on the Gym. Plus. . . I only have Torkoal and Numel, neither of whom are able to use strong moves.”

“Flannery.” Their grandfather stood up and walked over to her. “Every good Trainer has to start somewhere. And what you’ve said is not true; I’ve watched you and your Torkoal battle numerous wild Pokémon.”

“But it’s not the same! I always get so nervous when I’m battling another Trainer.” She sighed and crossed her arms. “That’s no trait a Gym Leader should have.”

Kabu went to his sister and put a hand on her shoulder. “Flana, you may be a year younger than I was when I started training at Grandpa’s Gym, but you’re already a lot more experienced than I was when I first started battling.” He gave her a smile. “Please? I’m sure you’ll really enjoy it.”

She gazed downwards. “So I guess that means you really are leaving, huh?”

“I—” Kabu started, panicking. 

“Calm down. I’m not mad at you anymore.” She sighed. “I see now that going and taking the Gym in Galar is what makes you happy. I should’ve noticed sooner.” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry I kept yelling at you and everything. I should have at least  _ tried _ to understand.”

Kabu smiled and patted her back. “It’s alright. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset like I did.”

Flannery laughed for a second, glancing back at Kabu. “I guess we were both in the wrong, huh?”

“Yeah,” he replied, giving her a hug. “Does this mean you’ll take over for Lavaridge Gym?”

“Maybe.” She stepped away to look at him again. “Alright, fine. I’ll take over as Gym Leader.”

Their grandfather stepped in between them. “Kabu, you should probably begin preparing for your trip to Galar. I’ll go ahead and give a reply to the Wyndon Council.” He looked at Flannery. “As for you, I’d suggest going on outside and training your Pokémon. Perhaps find a new Team member or two.”

Before either of them could reply to him, a bright blue light emanated from the kitchen. The two young Trainers ran there, only to see a large Arcanine sitting on the floor. The Fire Stone that had previously been on the counter was gone. 

“Arc!” Arcanine barked, leaping to his large paws at the sight of Kabu. His tail wagged back and forth, nearly knocking everything over. 

“You. . . You evolved. . .” Kabu muttered, staring at the Legendary Pokémon in awe. 

Arcanine smiled, his tongue hanging from his open mouth. “Arc! Arc!” Without warning, he ran towards Kabu, knocking him to the ground. 

Kabu laughed, his hands stroking Arcanine’s long mane of fur. “Hey, Arcanine! We’re going to Galar!”

Arcanine’s barks only became more excited. 

🔥🔥🔥

_ Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzt.  _

Kabu rubbed his eyes, trying to fight off sleep. It felt like he had only just closed his eyes, and now someone was calling him early in the morning. He sighed and reached over in his bed, grabbing his PokéNav and answered the call. 

“Hey, Kabu! How’s it like over in Galar?” Flannery’s excited voice met his ears. 

“Flana?” Kabu rubbed his eyes, squinting to check the time. “It’s nearly 4 AM. Why are you calling me so early?”

“Oh. Right.” Flannery laughed quietly. “Sorry, I forgot about the time differences. Hope I didn’t wake you up.”

Kabu sighed, giving up trying to explain. “It’s fine. So what’s up? You almost never call me.”

“I wanna hear about you first! You’ve been over in Galar for two months— how is it?! Did you catch any cool Pokémon there? Did you battle anyone yet?!!” He could practically see her excitement. 

“It’s nice here. The temperature is a lot cooler than back in Hoenn, and the weather is really unpredictable. And as for Pokémon, I’ve caught a Vulpix and Torkoal, as well as—”

“You have Torkoal too?” She sighed happily. “So now it’s like you can always be reminded of me and Grandpa!”

Kabu smiled. “Yeah. And I also caught a new Pokémon, called Sizzlipede. I found the little guy hiding in my Gym from the rain.” His eyes softened at the memory. Sizzlipede had been so weak and afraid, until Kabu took care of it and brought it back to full health. 

“Woah! You’ll have to visit and show it to me sometime!” She was quiet for a few seconds. “Oh, and I have some news for you. . .” Her voice was suddenly somber and solemn. 

Instantly Kabu’s joy faded, only to be replaced with fear and worry. “What is it? Did something happen? Is Grandpa okay? Is it the Gym?”

“Calm down!” Flannery laughed, her cheerfulness returning. “I’m only joking, Kabu. No need to get so panicked.”

He frowned at her little ‘joke.’ “Well, what is it then?” 

“I had my first Gym Battle today.”

Kabu froze. “What? Today? But it’s already so soon!” He sighed. “I really wish I could’ve been there to cheer you on.”

“Haha! Don’t worry. You’re needed in Galar for the Gym Challenge in a few weeks. By the way, I’ll be sure to watch all of your matches on tv.”

“Thank you.” He closed his eyes, smiling as he spoke again to her. “So, how was the battle?”

“It was so nerve-wracking! I didn’t know what to say and I. . . I think I stuttered several times when I gave out my commands.” She gave a nervous laugh. “Both challengers were nice though, at least.”

“Oh? You battled two Trainers?”

“Yep. A boy and a girl, both around 16. I lose against both of them though. . .” A voice appeared in the background, followed by Flannery’s muffled “yeah, I’ll get to that.” She appeared back more clearly to speak again to Kabu. “Sorry, Kabu, but I have to go. I’ll make sure to call you again and keep you updated on everything that goes on.”

“I’ll forward to your next call then.”  _ Even if it means waking up at 4 AM.  _

“Thanks! Love you!”

“Love you too, Sis.” She ended the call, and he closed his PokéNav, smiling up at the ceiling of his room.  _ She sounded so happy when she was talking about her earlier battle. I can’t wait to finally see her again and catch up on everything. . . _

Maybe coming here to Galar wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this was kinda a random idea that I got a few days ago, since Glo's about to challenge Kabu...
> 
> I hope it's alright.. 
> 
> Regular updates will hopefully resume next Friday.


End file.
